March 21, 2010
10th Day of Travel – KYOTO
So, waking up at 07:00 hours we got ready to leave. From the discussion last night, my relatives decided to stick with me today and go off on their own tomorrow. I really had no qualms with that. We were ready and out of the door by 08:00.
The first stop today was the INARI Shrine. We walked to the station nearest the hostel and made our way to the shrine in the southern part of KYOTO. Arriving at the station, we walked out and were greeted by security guards of the shrine. They lead us into the shrine.
Getting lead into the shrine was a little different. I have never been here before, so for me this was a little extra special. It was beyond my imagination. We spent two hours here walking up and down the mountain. There were so many gates, it really was impressive and there were also a lot of different paths to take.
I was happy that nobody got lost, and everyone met at the entrance of the shrine after the two hour mark. Although, it rained for a short while as we were walking around the shrine. From there we decided to go to the farthest thing first. That was the KINGAKUJI. That was the golden pagoda that we failed to see yesterday.
Taking the same route as we did yesterday, we made our way to the shrine. This time it was open and we were allowed in. It was just as I remembered it, except there were a few more things that allowed the shrine to make more money. (IE: you can ring a temple bell for ￥200, which I would never pay for since I have a friend that would let me do it for free…)
It was beautiful, just as I remembered. I really enjoy coming here. I have to say that the souvenir shops had less items that when I last remembered. It was somewhat of a disappointment in that sense. But everything else was great!
After finishing up at the shrine, we went to NIJO Castle. This is one of the most famous castles in JAPAN. It is known for the special way that the wooden floor creaks. It sounds like a nightingale bird singing. The palace was huge! It really was amazing. Really different from the way other palaces around the world are built.
The thing is, as we were walking around the castle, the temperature started to take a sudden dip. It was really getting cold! My mom was complaining and wanted to leave. I was OK with that. We then prepared to go to the last place for the night. The HEIEN Shrine.
Arriving there at about 17:00 hours, it was really cold. We walked in and looked around really quickly. Here is where my relatives started to really get cold. They were complaining and just waited for us at the gate. Ben and I went and quickly looked around. We were starting to get cold too.
Finishing up here, we decided to go home. It was quite the trek. We went first to the bus stop that was across the way from the one that we got off at. There we realized that the bus that stopped there was finished for the day. Luckily, there was a map that had a listed area of other bus stops.
Moving to the next bus stop, we noticed that the bus that we needed was just leaving. By this time, it was getting dark and very cold. There was a plan for me to go home today and drop some things off at my dorm room. It wasn’t going to happen. It was just getting too late.
Here is where things get a little dicey. Being cold, I wanted something hot to drink. Therefore, I went to a convenience store near by. My relatives and Ben waited at the stop. A bus came as I was buying the coffee, and I told them to just leave without me.
I caught the next bus and went to the station. Wondering where they were as I went through the station, I ran into them in front of a bathroom area. Surprised, we all went to go get dinner. We had Curry at a little place underneath the stairs/escalators at the KYOTO station. I don’t recommend this place to anyone, the curry was watery and lacked anything in it. CoCo Curry is a much better restaurant to eat at!
From there we went home, and called it a night. Tomorrow would be NARA!
More Photos can be found HERE!
The rest of the photos can be found HERE!
No comments:
Post a Comment