Kyoto 1

Hello, everyone!

It's been approximately two days since I left Hong Kong and the realization that I'm not going back hasn't really hit yet.  I decided some time ago to take a couple weeks of break in between HK and moving back to America, mostly for my mental sanity, and I am so glad I did.  It has been great to sleep in, sightsee, and just be on my own for a few days to recover.

On to the interesting stuff.  Let me summarize in case you don't want to hear any more of my rambling - I LOVE Japan.  It is a beautiful country with lovely, lovely people and I have had a great time so far.  The first couple of days, I've been in Kyoto, where I'll be until Friday.  I'll then fly to the North Island of Japan, Sapporo, to meet a friend for some skiing in Niseko, one of the snowiest ski resorts in the world.

But for now, here's a short introduction to my time here so far.  I took a red-eye flight that might have been a mistake, leaving Hong Kong at 1:15am.  I was already emotionally maxed out and exhausted from saying goodbye to everyone that day so I thought that I would definitely sleep on the 3 hour flight.  But not so much.  So, I arrived at Kansai Airport in Osaka on almost no sleep and I was DEAD.  Like, night after a lock-in dead.  I waited around for a coffee shop to open (keep in mind, flight landed at 5:30am).  After getting a bit of a caffeine boost, I bought my ticket for the Haruka direct train from Kansai Airport to JR Kyoto Station, which is a short 75 minute journey and then ends up being about a 10 minute walk to the hostel I'm staying at.  Not terrible.  At one point, I fell asleep on the train and awoke to the conductor tapping me on the shoulder.  I was sure he was going to tell me I'd overslept my stop and was now being deported, or something, but alas he just checked my ticket and I noted that we still had about 15 minutes til my stop.  Phew.

I shlepped out of the station and towards my hostel with grand plans to not only tell but show them how exhausted I was in hopes they'd let me check in early and sleep.  But to no avail.  They had no empty rooms, so they informed me that I could come back at 3.  It was around 10:00am at this point.  It took literally every ounce of strength for me to get up and off of the couch, but I did.  On the recommendation of one of the girls at the front desk, I went back to the train station and had lunch on the "Ramen Floor".  If you go up to the tenth floor of the Kyoto Station Building, there are literally Ramen shops upon Ramen shops.

I mistakenly tried to get in line behind several other waiting customers when I realized that they all had a ticket in their hand.  I went back to the hostess at the front and she gestured to a machine with pictures of food and prices with a money insert and push buttons to make your selection.  She gestured and pointed to the money slot and just like that I had ordered some delicious-looking ramen.  Getting back in line, I was seated at a bar looking into the kitchen.  I gave my receipt from the machine to a waiter and waited.  Loud greetings anytime someone came or left were on tap, and I sipped my ice water in between two businessmen who looked like they knew what they were doing.  Eventually, I my ramen came.  IT WAS AMAZING.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE Japanese food, and having it authentically was freaking amazing.

Pork Ramen.  SO GOOD.

Ordering Machine

I decided to do something with my afternoon, and after reading a few reviews, it looked like there was a temple that was really easy to get to by bus, so I went ahead and did it.  I am so glad that I lived in HK because before living there, I was really scared of taking buses - I was worried I'd miss my stop and be in the middle of nowhere, but it isn't a problem now.  I took the 50 bus from Kyoto Station and after a short walk, ended up at Ryoan-Ji zen garden.  This had pretty good reviews online and I enjoyed walking through the gardens and seeing the rock garden, but it was probably only a 5/10 on my list.  I'd say if you don't have more than a couple of days in Kyoto, don't bother with it.  There are many more spectacular things to be seen.

Funny Clog-shoes that I had to change into

Zen Garden...

At that point, it was almost two and thankfully, I figured that by the time I got back to the hostel, it'd be 3 and I could CRASH.  Which is precisely what I did.  After a hot, hot shower, I crashed almost continuously until 8am the next morning.

Tuesday dawned and after getting to sleep in,  I set out on what was to be my mission for the day: the Torii gates.  As I was downstairs having breakfast, I checked out the wall-sized map of things going on the in the city, and noticed that there was a plum blossom festival on February 25.  After consulting my phone, I realized that today was the 25th.  I ran up to my room to research the festival (was it REALLY worth it?) because I had been up in that same area yesterday to go to the zen garden.  I read many rave reviews and read that there was a tea ceremony with Maiko geisha (the real kind, not tourists dressed as geisha) and the decision was made for me.

I went to catch a bus at Kyoto Station and arrived to a mob scene at the bus area I needed to leave from.  I tried to ask the man in uniform lingering around the area which bus I should take and he pointed to the back of the gaggle of people loosely organized into a line.  A lady had apparently seen the exchange because she took pity on me and said in broken English, "Kitano-Tinman Gu?" (The temple I was trying to get to).  I enthusiastically said "YES!" and she mentioned that she was going there, too and that I could follow her there.  SO NICE.

The bus pulled up and hordes of people crammed onboard.  When there were about 10 people in front of us, I felt sure that we wouldn't make it.  But make it we did, and about 15 people after us.  I have never been more jammed into a bus before, even in Hong Kong.  It was insanity (and I was sweating like a prize fighter in my long down jacket).  Finally we got there, and my friend led me to the temple (along with half of Kyoto).  When we got there, I regretted that I had nothing more to say to her than Arigato, and we parted ways.

I made my way up through lots of food stalls and finally got into the temple area.  I found a tent that was selling tickets and eagerly joined the very long line.  I'd estimate that I waited about an hour before I got into the cordoned off area that was for the tea ceremony.  It was beautiful though.  The plum blossoms were not in full bloom yet, but some had appeared on a few trees and they were really gorgeous.  After snaking through the line in the gardens, finally it was my turn.  I went in and took a seat on benches as geisha went around and served everyone Matcha Tea (frothy green tea) in bowls.  I had been given a pastry when I bought my ticket, and I saw the guy next to me eating his with the tea, so I followed suit. 

A real, live Maiko!

Pastry with red beans inside - pretty good

Matcha Green Tea

And just like that it was over.  I left the area pretty overwhelmed by all the awesome culture around me and feeling so thankful that I stumbled upon this festival.  I would ABSOLUTELY recommend it to anyone who is in Kyoto over February 25, because it really is a sight to behold.  And probably the only time you'll ever get to see a Geisha do Japanese Tea Service unless you're a gazillionare or a a Japanese businessman.

Next up was a meander through the temple grounds and they were breathtaking.  I have a soft spot for Asian culture (I mean, I studied it in college), so it's particularly meaningful for me.  I loved seeing people go to the shrines and clap and ring the gongs then throw their money in.  Japan has very rich culture and has done a great job of preserving their historic sites for people to enjoy.

Lanterns

Plum Blossoms

I was very excited for the next part of my adventure - trying some of the food stalls.  I stopped and watched a guy roasting nuts, and though I didn't buy any, he was nice enough to let me take a picture.

 I had seen these guys cooking these balls made of some kind of batter with octopus when I walked up, and there was one almost immediately after I left the temple.  I ordered 6 for the low price of 300 yen (about $3usd).  They were really delicious, actually, and came with a brown sauce (maybe eel sauce?), mayo and dried meat on top.  I ate in a small tent behind the stall with a few Japanese people who looked very amused that I was availing myself of the local fare. 

I'm officially Chinese now.  I took a picture of everything I ate today.  No joke.

Here the guy is at work.  That's a very large bowl of octopus and where I ate over his shoulder. 

Next up was a chocolate covered banana.  I'd give it a 6/10 on the tastiness scale.

Next up. a steamed bun.  It was filled with a very savory filling that was porky and leeky.  It was a little strong for me.

Finally, some roasted corn.  Because you can't go wrong with corn, and I liked this guy.  He smiled at me a lot.

 That's gonna be all for now, folks.  Stay tuned for Sushi, the Golden Temple and the Gion District, all of which I did this afternoon and evening.

Lots of love to you wherever you are in this beautiful world,
-The Adventurer