Travel report day 9 - Kyoto, spiritual capital of Japan and cherry blossoms
08:42h: We get off the bus too late for the imperial
palace, but find our ways to the
Shijou-dori
roofed markets of Kyoto. The place seems like a perfect mixture of everyday
goods and tourist food. We buy some weird looking
mochi,
great sashimi and
octopus.
10:00h: Finally, after seemingly endless walks through back-alleys and along dusty roads, we end up at the imperial palace. The place is packed with tourists, mainly japanese, and the sun is getting a good shot at my head.
The park has the most beautiful cherry blossoms up to date, and that's hard after having seen them every day. We take pics and speed of to find this great unagi (eel) restaurant close to central Kyoto.
15:30h: The bus takes us to Ginkakuji temple, where we start the philosophers walk. It's a stroll by a small river that takes you along a number of temples. The patch was littered with cherry blossoms once again, and although I was sure that this sight would not repeat itself too soon, I was getting a bit fed up with all the pink blossoms (*_*)
Time needed for philosophers walk: 2 hours, including temples (some)
Time temples close: 16:00h (which was bad for us)
Amount of cherry blossoms seen: approx. 9000 Gazillion
Status: Looking forward to apple trees back home...
22:00h: We arrive at the nearby izakaya, a classic japanese pub. They serve great yakitori, which is basically anything on a stick. Sake is fine and we have a great time with the owner and his staff, all going multilingual and laughing a lot. Red lantern = fun!
On the way home, swaying slightly, we meet an aussie and the guy from denmark who had been staying in out Tokyo ryokan. That is a coincidence, since our tani house is not part of the Lonely Planet tour guide. We have some beers and sway back to our room.
10:00h: Finally, after seemingly endless walks through back-alleys and along dusty roads, we end up at the imperial palace. The place is packed with tourists, mainly japanese, and the sun is getting a good shot at my head.
The park has the most beautiful cherry blossoms up to date, and that's hard after having seen them every day. We take pics and speed of to find this great unagi (eel) restaurant close to central Kyoto.
15:30h: The bus takes us to Ginkakuji temple, where we start the philosophers walk. It's a stroll by a small river that takes you along a number of temples. The patch was littered with cherry blossoms once again, and although I was sure that this sight would not repeat itself too soon, I was getting a bit fed up with all the pink blossoms (*_*)
Time needed for philosophers walk: 2 hours, including temples (some)
Time temples close: 16:00h (which was bad for us)
Amount of cherry blossoms seen: approx. 9000 Gazillion
Status: Looking forward to apple trees back home...
22:00h: We arrive at the nearby izakaya, a classic japanese pub. They serve great yakitori, which is basically anything on a stick. Sake is fine and we have a great time with the owner and his staff, all going multilingual and laughing a lot. Red lantern = fun!
On the way home, swaying slightly, we meet an aussie and the guy from denmark who had been staying in out Tokyo ryokan. That is a coincidence, since our tani house is not part of the Lonely Planet tour guide. We have some beers and sway back to our room.
Posted: Mon - April 12, 2004 at 01:14 AM |
Quick Links
XML/RSS Feed
Categories
Comments powered by
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Nov 08, 2005 09:15 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Nov 08, 2005 09:15 PM