Kyoto, 4/22/07 and 4/23/07

4/22/07

 

Heian Shrine, Mibu Temple

Our original plan was to go to Mibu temple then go to Heian Shrine. We hopped on the bus to Mibu temple, but a bit down the ride we found it odd that the bus ride was taking a bit longer than we thought it should take to get where Mibu Temple was.  Turns out, we hopped the bus going in the opposite direction! We got off the bus and walked around for a little bit, looking for a bus stop on the other side of the street, and I saw something like looked like some type of temple. I said "Hey, I wonder what that is??", and we walked to the gate. Sure enough, it was Heian Shrine! Beautiful place.

 

We did manage to find our way to Mibu temple….we went to visit the graves of Shinsengumi members and possibly visit the old garrison where they lived and trained. Another beautiful place, surrounded by a nice quiet neighborhood.

 

Packing for the trip home

I don’t know how Jo did it, but she packed about 30 pounds of Manga and more pounds of other gifts for friends, in her suitcase…..her suitcase was smaller than mine, too! I didn’t buy any Manga, but I had a bear of a time stuffing my clothes and gifts into my big suitcase. I just need to learn how to pack better, I guess!

 

4/23/07

 

Off to Kansai Airport

It was a most enjoyable time Tokyo and Kyoto. I almost didn’t want to go back home! We took the "Haruka Express" train to Kansai, and the cool thing was for much of the 1 hour ride, we had car #4 all to ourselves! When we first left Kyoto station, Jo, Jesse and I were the only people in the car. We got only about 5 other people in our car at the following stops, which made for a relaxing train ride.

 

The 9 hour plane ride to San Francisco was excruciating for me….not painful, but I just wanted the ride to be over with.  I watched "Curse of the golden flower" twice, "Eragon" once, a few playlists on my iPod, snoozed a little (but didn’t actually "sleep"),…..But I was BORED on that plane. We got to San Fran, had some breakfast with a Mimosa (alcohol at 8 in morning! What was I thinking?). After breakfast, tiredness hit me and I fell fast asleep on a chair at our departing gate for about 30 minutes. I think I might have hit REM sleep instantly, because I remember waking up and 30 minutes had passed, and I felt as if I just closed my eyes for a second.  

 

Funny….we left on Monday, got home on Monday an hour earlier than we left.  Gosh, it felt like it was Monday for two whole days.

 

Home at last

Most people would probably just go home from the airport and kick their feet up and rest after the trip. But, right after I got off the plane, my brother in law picked me up and we went to my niece’s track meet. Went home afterward just long enough to open my luggage and put my everyday stuff into my daypack……you know where I went?……straight to the studio!!! Yup, I just couldn’t stay away for another day. My biz partner Sherril and I, and some students went to dinner and I told them all about the events of the vacation.

 

Jet lag reared its ugly head. Tuesday night/wednesday morning, I didn’t get to sleep until 6 a.m. ( I wasn’t tired at all), but only got about 4 hours of sleep because my cell phone started ringing alot at almost 10 a.m. Ugh. But, I got through wednesday without feeling drained or tired from lack of sleep. TODAY was when I felt drained and altogether out of it. I got to sleep at about 2 a.m. thursday morning and had to wake up really early to take my Mom somwhere , Then straight to Downtown Seattle to teach my Wushu classes at Morningside Academy. I know that I was saying stuff in Wushu andTai Chi class today, but I have no idea what I said…..I found it sort of difficult to find the right words for what I wanted to say, and when I spoke I didn’t think I was making any sense!

 

Speaking of which, it is now 1:19 a.m. Friday morning. I should get to bed. I’m not tired anymore, but I should force myself to get used to the time change, huh? Strange, I didn’t have problem when I got back from China!

 

Kyoto, 4/19 to 4/21/07

4/19/07

Daikakuji Temple

I love the temple hopping! We wanted to check out other temples today, but we didn’t get out of the hotel till around 11 a.m., and Daikakuji was the only place we had time to see (All temples close to tourists around 4 or 5 pm). All the walking today did my feet in……it almost feels as if my plantar fasciitis is back. (I better get myself an appointment with Reggi when I get back to the States!).

 

4/20/07

Kinkakuji Temple

The "Golden Pavillion"….Oh my gosh…what a sight!!! I’ve only seen pictures on the Web of Kinkakuji, but it sure is better to see it in person. We walked through a walkway lined with hedges, came around a corner, and BAM!….the Golden pavillion just jumped out at us. I heard some tourists behind me gasp in awe…as did I. I felt my jaw drop as I took in the sight of this building that glistened of gold, reflecting off of the pond in front of it. I spent a good 15 minutes just standing there and going "Oh wow…."  The rest of the grounds were incredible. Everywhere I looked in the gardens and the scenery, was a whole new "universe".

 

After Kinkajuji, we went to the Imperial Palace. We had to get to the Imperial household agency office before 1:30 to apply for the 2:00 tour (passports needed to apply). It was a wonderful tour, and we had a great tour guide.

 

Today did my feet in again. All I wanted to do was kick my shoes off and plunge them into hot lavender scented water and just chill out. Funny how things work out when you want a break from your vacation!!!

 

4/21/07

Toji Temple Flea Market

Wow, this flea market was huge. Jo and I got there pretty "early", about 9:30 am or so, and we got to see some of the flea market in relatively quiet surroundings until the swarm of people came. This flea market is only held once a month, and a good thing too…..if the market was held every weekend, it would be a constant madhouse for traffic! I found a couple of nice Haori (only 1000 yen apiece!) and a couple of nice kimono for my nieces (also 1000 yen a piece)…..the quality is excellent for the price…maybe a minor stain in the linings of Haori or Kimono, depending on what your find, but don’t let the "cheap" price fool you….its great quality stuff. I recommend the flea market to anybody that visit Kyoto.   I found myself an old Tsuba (sword handguard), and some cool trinkets. Best of all…the food booths!….I stuffed myself with sweet-potato fries and meat skewers until I popped.

 

Waiting for the bus back to the hotel was a nightmare. We waited for 3 of our buses to come, but they (actually, ALL the buses) were jam packed with people by the time it got to our stop. It didn’t help that there was always at least 50 other people waiting at the same bus stop we were standing at. We decided to hail a cab back home instead!

 

After resting at the hotel for a bit, Jesse came by our room and we decided to go out to Gion again. We checked out a different area of the shopping district, where we found the 24 hour internet cafe that Jesse had mentioned to us a few days earlier. Jo and I got a little caught up on our email, just enough to let people know we were doing well despite not being to keep in touch with peoplel. It was a great walk through Gion, and it was nicer weather this time, instead of being wet and cold like the first walk through Gion that me and Jo took.

Leavin’ on a jet plane….

I’ll be leaving for Japan tomorrow morning……yeeee haaaa!! I’ve wanted to go to Japan since I was about 15 years old…and now finally a dream is being realized!

 

I’m going with several Kyudo classmates for an international seminar and rank exams. I’m excited and nervous at the same time, about the rank exams. To take my Shodan  test in Kyudo’s country of origin….how cool is that??  I’m looking foward to it!

 

Its going to be a long flight, but I’ve got my handy-dandy iPod and travel guides to keep me occupied. We arrive in Japan monday afternoon. We’ll most likely need to hop a train to Tokyo from the airport, and arrange for lodgings for Tuesday night. Somehow, the hotel situation got  messed up and we don’t have a room for tuesday.  Last I heard (but I could be wrong), we have rooms for monday, but not tuesday, but there’s room availability after tuesday. Go figure.   In Kyoto, however, my classmate Jo and I want to spend at least a couple nights in a Ryokan (traditional inn) for the experience of it.

 

We’ll spend the 1st week in Tokyo for the seminar and exams, then on the 16th, its off to Kyoto for a week of some much needed fun, relaxation, and immersion into the Japanese culture. I’m looking forward to seeing a Shinsengumi museum, several sword stores, kyudo stores (of course!), taking in the Tokyo nightlife, shopping, hiking to temples (more like having fun trying to find the temples! "Sumimasen….Sankakuji wa doko desu ka??"), visiting parks, and just wandering around aimlessly.

 

I’ll blog as much as I can, given that I find internet cafes to blog from. I’ll be taking lots of pictures, and will try to get some selected pics posted on my photo gallery slideshow here on spaces.live. Check here often to see if i’ve blogged my latest adventure in Tokyo or Kyoto!

 

Ja, Matta!

 

-Restita