Kyoto, Nara & Oosaka Trip Account

(in diary format...sorry, no Japanese version)

06/27/2003

Although it wasn't raining, there were quite a few clouds, so we couldn't see Fujisan on the way to
Kyoto. This is quite disappointing. Shinkansen was like normal trains except that it's very fast. 2.5
hours later and we're in Kyoto Station.

It was very hot and humid in Kyoto. It rained from time to time thr oughout the whole day. We
bought the one day city bus pass for 500 Yen. We went to Kyomizudera (清水寺) first. This famous
temple was constructed only with wood on a hill. This wooden structure was preserved very well
and very grand. Its wooden platform extending out from the hillside is another engineering
master piece. There is another 5 storey pagoda close to Kyomizudera, but the admission fee to
this pagoda is 1400 Yen. We met an artist that can also speak French outside the Pagoda. She was
very kind and excited to talk to us. She talked to Anne for a while.

We then walked in the direction to Heian Jingu. The streets leading to Heian Jingu have a lot of
little interesting shops. Yatsuhashi (八Ш橋) is a famouse omiyage of Kyoto. Both the baked hard
ones (have a strong cinnamon taste) and the raw soft ones are very tasty. Chionin (知恩院) was
on the way to Heian Jingu. Chionin was the largest Bhuddist temple in Japan. However, by the time
we got there, it's past 4:30, so we didn't get to go in there. We then walked up to Heian Jingu
(平安神宮). Heian Jingu was modified from an old palace, so it was very big. Too bad that it was
raining very hard that I didn't get to look at it very carefully. The back garden was also open
for visit. But the admission closed at 5:30, and we got there at exact 5:30. @@ I saw the two
Japanese husband and wife 土鈴 that my parents bought when we visited Japan for the first time.
It's pretty exciting to see all these places that I've been before although I totally have no
recollection at all.

After Heian Jingu, we went to Gion (祇園) area of Kyoto. Gion is a long street with a lot of
Omiyage (Suvenior) shops. This street has lanterns along the two sides. It looks very beautiful
when all the lanterns are lit at nights. There are a row of restaurants along the Kamo River in
the center of Gion. It's a very amazing sight at nights. Kyoto is also famous for its Ryori
(traditional Japanese food). Kaiseki (懷石) is the ultimate Japanese Ryori accompanied by the
tea ceremony, and Kyoto is THE PLACE to eat Kaiseki. It's not cheap, the simplest set costs
10,000 Yen. Well, I tried it just for the sake of it. The food is very dilicious and very pretty.
Every dish was so delicately prepared and the Kaiseki styled ryori doesn't have a strong taste. It's
very plain but very tasty as well. I like the plainess.

We stayed at Tour Club that night. Tour Club is a neat little place. We had a private triple room
that has a private washroom and sink. It is also air conditioned. The rent is 8900 per night plus
tax.

06/28/2003

We went to Nara (奈良) today. Nara was the capital of Japan for a short time before Kyoto. It
had all these old beautiful temples and pagodas. The most famous temple here is Toudaiji
(東大寺). Toudaiji has a big Bhudda that's around 20 m wide. This temple has been burnt down
several times. They rebuilt the Bhudda and the temple, but the original Bhudda was much bigger
than the one now. There used to be two 5 storey pagodas on each side of the temple. The mon 門
(gate) of Toudaiji is also very big, but not as big as the one in Chion-in. There are just a lot
of (iroirona) temples here with their own distinctive features. Nara is about 45 min by train
from Kyoto. Oh, The people in Kyoto and Nara are very nice. I asked a guy in Kyoto station for
direction, and he took me to the place even though it was more than 10 min away. @@ The
atmosphere in Kyoto and Nara are just totally different from Tokyo. It's more relaxing and
harmonious in Kyoto and Nara.

We spent the day walking around Nara Koen. There are zillions of temples and gardens around. We
bought obentos and breads at the convenient stores for lunch. There are a lot of wild deer in
Nara, and they're not afraid of people. They even go after people for food. I saw one deer biting
on a lady's shirt right after she bought the deer food at one shop. We had Sukiyaki for dinner.
It was a very good experience. It's like tepanyaki, but then you get to play around with your
food on the hot metal surface as well. I had the Japanese pancake. I also bought some kugeimo.
It's flour rapped imo (taro) cake. It's very tasty. After we got back to kyoto, we walked around
the Kyoto station area. Saw the Kyoto Tower. It was raining from time to time today as well.
This is quite annoying. The stickiness is really uncomfortable.

06/29/2003

Today we toured around Kyoto as well. We bought the 500 Yen bus pass again. We went to Nijojou
(二條城) first. Nijojou was constructed by the famous Tokugawa Shogun 德川家康 (General
Tokugawa), who was the most powerful warlord during the feudal time. His castle was the biggest
and the richest of all. The Japanese gardens are just beautiful. The paintings on the paper
sliding doors are drawn by all the famous artists of the time and they are very realistic and
detailed. The floor plan and the design of the castle was so careful and detailed. The weird
shaped castle building with long cracking hall ways (鶯廊下). The long interrogating process and
the long clothes were all designed to prevent assassins.

After Nijojou, we went to Kinkakuji 金閣寺 (the Golden Pavilion). However, it turned out
to be a great disappointment. The "Golden" pavilion looked very cheap - a wooden structure spray
painted in gold. Although I have to say that this building looks very beautiful from far, with
its reflection on the lake. There is also the Gintakuji 銀閣寺 (the Silver Pavilion), which is
the mere imitation of the Kintakuji. With Kintakuji being such a big disappointed, I didn't
bother to see the Gintakuji. According to the guidebook, Gintakuji looked the same as the
Kintakuji except that it's painted in Silver (better not be spray-painted) and it's not as grand.
The entrance fee of Kinkakuji was 400, and the ticket was some paper with charms written on it.
So I guess it's that not bad after all, cuz they automatically give you good wishes. hehe

We then went to the Imperial Palace. It's closed during the weekends, so we didn't get to have
a tour on the inside. We only walked around the park, which is pretty empty. The park would be
very beautiful during spring with all the flowers blooming. Now it's just some park with some
green trees.

We went to sanjusan-gandou (三十三間道) has 1001 "thousand-arm Kannon" (千手觀音). These
"thousand-arm Kannons" has 21 pairs of arms, each one saved 25 words, so that makes up to
thousand arms. These Kannon statues are just fantastic. Each one of them are different. This
hall that holds all these Kannons are very long (120m long wooden structure). Special anti-shock
technique was used to prevent any destructions during earthquakes. Apparently this anti-shock
device has worked very well, for I didn't see any big damages to the structure.

After sanjusan-gandou, we went to Chionin again. This time we got there slightly before 4:30.
Very luckily, the admission is free since it was so close to the closing time, but we still
walked around the main region and saw all the huge halls. Chion-in has a very huge mon
(entrance gate), biggest of all the gates I saw in Kyoto. There is a very big bell in Chionin,
but that region is closed when I went. But I went in for free (saved 400 Yen), so I shouldn't
complain too much.

After Chionin, we walked to Gion. Gion is like the Shinjuku region in Tokyo, with a lot of
department stores and young people. There are also a few Kabuki-za there. We bought some
omiyage in Gion and went back to central Kyoto. We had dinner at a Japanese restaurant that
night. The food is very delicious. I really like the Kyoto Ryori because there are just not so
strong flavor and spices in it.

06/30/2003

We went to Oosaka in the mornin. Oosaka is like Tokyo, another mega city, except that it's
smaller. I think Oosaka is pretty similar to Toronto. There is really nothing to see in Oosaka,
for its major industry is entertainment. There is the Oosakajou (Oosaka castle). Oosakajou is
very big, it has two moults. These moults are very wide (at least 5 m wide). Oosakajou was
also built by 德川家康. The inside of the castles are all gone except for the central 8 storey
tower (天守閣). But this tower was also converted into a museum, so I didn't bother to enter.
The Shitennouji 四天王寺 in Oosaka is also very famous. However, after seeing all these
beautiful temples in Nara and Kyoto, Shitennouji is really nothing. The Tennougi Koen and
dobutsuen are closed on Mondays, so we only walked on the outside. Oosaka is famous for its
Udon (Udon noodles) and takoyaki (octupus balls). The Udon soup has no Souyu (Soy sauce) in it.
It tastes totally different from the Udon in Tokyo. The soup is very clear and 不膩口.
Unfortunately Anne got sick when we reached Dotombori 道頓堀 in Namba region. Dotombori is like
the Shibuya and Shinjuku shopping district in Tokyo. Shinbashi and the river are both very
famous.

I only spent a bit more than half a day in Oosaka and took the night bus back to Tokyo. The bus
ride took about 9 hours. This trip was a nice little vacation inside a longer vacation. I'm
totally exhausted now. I walked most of the time from 9am to 10 pm during these 4 days. However,
I also had a lot of good foods, so it all cancels out. I hope tsuyu goes away soon. The average
temperature in Kyoto/Oosaka was about 32 plus the humidity. I got some tan (and some burnt)
during this trip.

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