My trip away from Tokyo

Lets see, where should I start... I guess I’ll start from the beginning, which is usually always a good place to start from. So this was the 1^st time for me riding on a Shikansen (Bullet Train). It was quite something as we moved along Japan at around 150 miles per hour. I took a video and quite a few pictures of the country side of that so here it is.

8-1-07
So after I arrived in Kyoto the 1^st thing I did was start looking for my Ryokan (Japanese style inn). I was reading the guide on the Frommer’s book that I have. The directions aren’t that greatest in that book I found out. You almost always have to find someone to ask if they know the place as long as you’re around the right area. Anyway, once I got in I was covered in sweat from carrying around my huge luggage. So I changed my clothes and rested for a while then set out to take a quick look at Kyoto. I found that there was a large river right next to my Ryokan so I took several pictures of that. Then I walked around town for quite a while just getting the feel for Kyoto. After than I got to my room and then took a nice cold shower. After a while of resting in my room I got up again to get something to eat around 8:00pm. After searching for quite a while and seeing that hardly anything was open after 7pm I found a small place that was right next to my hotel. After that I went back to the Ryokan and just watched a few movies and went to bed. Here are the pictures I took that day.
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8-2-07
Ok, the next day I got up around 7:30 because I ordered the Japanese style breakfast and I needed to come down to the main eating hall at 8:00. It was a pretty good meal, not super tasty but not bad. So I was pretty tired still after breakfast because I kept waking up in the middle of the night, so I went back to sleep until almost 10:00. Oh and some of you might have noticed I was getting on MSN and still being able to check Email while I was there. I found a wireless network that wasn’t secured but it was a little far away so the connection wasn’t the greatest. I kept having to re-connect all the time. Of course the day that I left was when it was working best. OK, well on with the story. When I woke up I walked to the Kyoto station, picked up the travelers information and ended up taking the bus to a memorial called “Sanjusangedo Hall”. It was quite a sight but too bad I was only allowed to take pictures outside of it. There were quite a few national treasures inside that were very pretty. It houses 1,001 life-size images of the thousand-handed Kannon. They had gold on most of them and they are basically Buddhist woman and each of them were a little different from each other. Then I went to the Kyoto National Museum and saw some very old artifacts in there dating from the 11^th Century. I wasn’t allowed to take very many pictures in there either. Actually I wasn’t sure it was allowed at all so I kind of took them on the sly. Anyway, after that I went to Kiyomizu Temple. This temple is very pretty, and it was all put together without a single nail. On my way up to the temple I found a massive cemetery which I took a few pictures of because I just love the way the cemeteries in Japan look. Then after all this sight seeing I grabbed a quick bite to eat and was pretty exhausted from all the walking so I headed home. Here are the pictures from that day.
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8-3-07
Now the next day was pretty cool also. The first thing I did was head to Nijo Castle. It was quite a view and I took some video and pictures of this place. The one thing I loved about the inside of this castle, (which we weren’t allowed to take pictures) was the flooring. The floor was made out of a wood called Nightingale Wood. The reason it was so cool was because when you stepped on it, it made a squeaking noise that was quite distinct from any normal squeak. I guess the wood was actually made to do it so if there were any intruders during the night it would alert the guards someone was coming. The grounds of the castle though, were my favorite part. The garden was quite magnificent. I took quite a few pictures and some video of that as well. There was a board showing depending what month of the year it was, depended on what was blooming.
Before I got to my next destination, I thought I had found but realized I didn’t. I guess I found a shrine along with another cemetery which was kind of on the mountain side. It was very pretty and I took some video and pictures of that as well.
After that I went to Ryoanji Temple. Inside it has the famous Zen rock garden. Though it was very pretty I had realized that I had left the fan I had bought in a restaurant when I was using the restroom. So I kind of rushed though that place and took some video and pictures though.
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8-4-07
On this day I got up a bit late because I couldn’t sleep very well in that Ryokan. I just got up, went to the Kyoto station and road the 10:20 train to Nara.
When I got to Nara is was super hot (around 90F with humidity) so I was sweating my head off once again. The 1^st thing I did was look for a place to stay again. This was another Ryokan that Frommer’s suggested. Now this one was nice. It was a little old but it had a really nice peaceful feeling to it. There was a small garden in the middle grounds and it had a public bath (one for men and one for women). So when I got in, it was a bit too early to get in my room. So once again I took off from there, leaving my heavy luggage behind. I went to the Nara park and found lots of deer everywhere. You could buy crackers and feed them right out of your hand. It was amazing how docile these deer were. You could reach out and pet them and they would just stand there with out a care in the world. I took some pictures of that. Then I went to the Kofukuji Temple and their treasure house. Pictures were not allowed so I didn’t get any of the artifacts. After that I was so tired and hot I walked back to the Ryokan which I was quite proud of finding because it was on the other side of town. I got back but it was still a little early but they saw how drenched I was they told me I could go to my room early. At about 6PM I took my first ever communal bath. Though there was no one there it was still quite interesting. You have to wash your entire body outside of the bath then once you’re done with that you can go into the bath tub. Oh yeah, and I also used my first coin laundry while I was here too. Here are the pictures from that day.
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8-5-07
So on Sunday I got up, had a Japanese style breakfast that was really well made at this Ryokan. I met some Japanese people in the dining room and had a nice chat with them. The man didn’t know any Japanese but his wife was Japanese. I figured out they were from California. Her family lives here in Japan so she wanted to see her family and tour with her husband. Then some people from Holland came in and I talked with them for a little while as well. So after breakfast I set out and went to the Todaji Temple. This is the temple that houses the famous biggest Buddha statue in all of Japan. It was originally built in the mid-700’s and has gone through several natural disasters so the head has been rebuilt about 3 times since it was made. After that I went to the Kasuga Grand Shrine. I think this was my favorite shrine so far. There were so many stone lanterns on the road side, it was just very peaceful and beautiful. After this I went to a restaurant that served a Japanese style Bentou (meal in a box). Then I was so sweaty once again I went back to my room, turned the A/C on full blast and took a nap. I think while I’ve been in Japan I have consumed the most liquid I ever have. Now I know why they have vending machines everywhere. So people don’t die of thirst. Anyway, after that I didn’t go anywhere really but I took another bath and this time there were some people in there. I talked a little with them but in this heat you can’t stay in the bath for very long. Anyway here are the pics for that day as well.
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8-6-07
So on Monday, I got up, talked with the same Japanese people at breakfast and learn their names are Jerry and Jamie. They took a picture with me but I didn’t have my camera with me at the time. So I set out in the morning and head to Osaka because I had to change to a shikansen again from there to Hiroshima. Once I got to Osaka I learn I had to go to Shin-Osaka which is where the shikansen was. While there I thought I had lost my JR rail pass and was going to go back to Osaka station to look for it. Fortunately someone found it and the lady I had talked to about loosing it came and found me before I left to Osaka station. So it takes about 1hr and 30 min from Osaka to get to Hiroshima. It was a nice ride and I was able to read a lot of the book Josh (my brother) had recommended me. I got to Hiroshima and find my hotel quickly so I could get out of the heat again (because once again, I was sweating my head off). After I took a shower and got cooled down I went out and got dinner. I had Okonomiyaki, which is basically like a big Japanese style pancake with lots of ingredients mixed in. This one had bacon, shrimp, scallops, noodles, cabbage, onions, chives, and eggs. It was very delicious. I took some pictures of that being made as well. Then after that I headed to the peace memorial park where the event was being held where they put paper lanterns in the water and float them down the river in memorial of all the lives that were lost on the day the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. It was very pretty and there was lots of music too. I took a lot of video and pictures of that. Most of my pictures didn’t turn out that well though so at least you have the video. Luckily my hotel has a fast wired connection so I can update my blog tonight.
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P.S. I’ll upload the videos later once I edit them back in Tokyo.