130: Kyoto, Nara and Bye Bye Japan
I’ve only got a few minutes to write this so better type quick..
I think I stopped the last blog at Takamatsu. Since then I visited Okayama Castle and Gardens, Himeji castle, Koyo-En Gardens and a Mountain Temple Complex in the Hills around Himeji before continuing to Kyoto. Details about the above will follow when I have more time but maybe I can do a mini bog about Kyoto beforetime runs out..
Kyoto:
I spent the last 3 days in Kyoto exploring Temples, Shrines and Parks and will head to Nara tomorrow before flying out to New Zealand on the 21st.
Hopefully New Zealand means easier internet access to I have time for dealing with emails and blogs which – as mentioned a few times – I had to serisouly cut down since I arrived in Japan.
Kyoto is a big city and attractions are stretched out quite a bit.
It can easily take an hour to get to the sites by bus which is a shame as it is difficult to fit several places into a day..
Anyway Kyoto is considerably better than the cities that I have seen elsewhere in Japan.
It’s a big city no doubt but there are some pretty amazing sites in Kyoto. One of the Termples was a serious “Oh My god” experience.. wait til I show the pics and you know what I mean..
Also the houses in the vicinity of the Temples and shrines seem more traditional than I have seen elsewhere in Japan which is nice.. Not that much of the ugly blocks that seem to be everywhere else in Japan.
There are some nice walks between the sites and with a few hundred Temples and Shrines to see in Kyoto there is no danger of running out of places to see.. that is if you dont get sick of visiting Japanese Temples and Shrines of course.. The Buildings are very different from SE Asia Buddhist Shrines and Temples. Here almost all buildings are wooden constructions. Huge dimensions and fabulous dark wood with shapes as you know them from Japanese Temples.
Because of this many temples look quite alike but the surroundings always add to the experience and I find most places rather intriguing/interesting.. But then I have seen only a hand full of sites..
There are also some nice Parks in Kyoto to have some relaxed strolls around spring gardens etc. Very nice especially with the cherry blossom season right now.. You will get sick looking at my Cherry blossom pics 😉
Talking of Spring, weather is strange.. typical April weather I guess
It changes from day to day between cloudy, rainy (a lot of rain) and warm sunny weather.
It was nice and sunny the last two days, today pretty warm (T-Short weather) so that was good for exploring Kyoto. Before that it rained a lot and whenever I manage to uload my pictures you will see what I mean.. we are talking serious rain here;-)
Also it was freezing cold towards the evening in Kyoto and I was glad I had my Gloves in my bag when I was out to see a Temple at night…
Tomorrow its rain again accoring to the forecast and they are usually pretty accurate.
This is bad news as I want to driveto Nara and that means walking around the town all day…
A bad choice if it really rains.
Anyway, one day and a half in Nara and then its off to Osaka International Airport to fly to New Zealand. Just as well because I get to the point now that I am really looking forward to leave Japan. So many amazing things to see but I don’t think I can cope with the big city crowds and the japanese food much longer 😉 I feel like I need to recover from this Japan Trip health wise since I have eaten a lot of crap food to be frank and please NO MORE RAMEN SOUP NOODLES .. I’m sick of them 😉 The only thing I could keep eating on and on and what I will miss is Sushi (can’t get enough but it’s expensive).. .and maybe Unagi, a Japanese Eel Dish..
Right, gotta run for the bus. back in a few days from New Zealand I guess..
Tags: Japan, Kyoto, RTW 2005/2006
saschas
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