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Yesterday I went to Kyoto. As the original capital of Japan it has been on my to do list since before I arrived. I was told it is full of temples and historical sites and thats exactly what we found. We had decided to go as a house so Jarek the girls and me all got early nights for the first time in a while and set to leave at about 9 in the morning. At just after 9 we were walking to the station and shortly after that were on a train. The trip itself is about 40 minutes and costs around £7 pounds one way. It's a bargain and we settled in for the trip with our DS's and PSP's. I was surprised on my arrival to Kyoto to find a super modern and huge train station. I had thought that from the get go I would be encapsulated in historical architecture. We arranged for some day trip bus tickets that would supply us with as many free bus trips as we wanted during the day all for 500 yen. We were also told that today was the 20th anniversary of an emperor so some places were free and there would be lots of tourist traffic. She was right and the whole day we were surrounded by high school excursions from what seemed like all the schools in Japan.
We spent the next 25 minutes on a bus I took up a whole seat to myself and my knees were up by my ears. But it was dead comfy. We stopped outside the entrance to the park containing the golden temple and piled out the bus and entered the park. I had been told prior to today that this was the best time to visit Kyoto and the leaves turn red this time of year. As I entered the park I was confronted with an array of coloured leaves from green to yellow, orange and red. It was beautiful and the whole park was filled with a rainbow of coloured leaves We paid the 400 yen entry and rounded the corner. At this point you can see the temple. The building its self is not large but is covered in gold plate. The sun shines off it and gives great contrast to the trees surrounding it and then reflects across the small lake it sits next too. The view is fantastic and all the photos taken look like they belong in a guide book. We spent a long while taking photos of the temple we each had a shot taken standing in front of it and we ran around taking shots from different angles. All the while trying not to show the mass of other people trying to do the same thing.
After the temple there is not much in the grounds other than the grounds themselves. But the view is fantastic. We took pictures of the trees and ponds and each other as we strolled. At the end of the walk is a gift shop as expected and the prices are jacked up to squeeze money out of the gaijin that don't know any better. We were in the grounds for more than an hour maybe two. And we made our way to the bus stop.
About now two school girls of about 10 or 12 asked Jarak if they could have a photo with him as foreigners are few and far between. Jarek posed and then the two girls handed him what is called a name card. Both cards were handmade and had the names of the two girls on them along with a little drawn picture. What surprised me is that the school's name and address and their classroom was also on these cards. I found it astonishing that these girls were running around handing out details on how to find them to strangers. Japan being the safe place it is obviously doesn't consider the possible ramification of this and it's something that would never be allowed in the UK. Jarek gave the cards to Anna who thought they were cute. Later at the bus stop we were approached by more students. These were older at about 15 and were practising their English. They interviewed Anna based on some homework task they had been assigned and after she was given a pre-prepared thank you letter.
We got on the bus to our next destination. I'm not sure how long the journey was but it was long enough for me to get bored and fall asleep. The bus emptied out onto an empty and dull looking street and there seemed to be nothing to see. We followed Jarek and the horde of students that had also got off the bus. They seemed to know where they were going. After a few turns down some alley way like streets we rounded the corner to a street rammed with people. They were shoulder to shoulder. Either side of this street which was on a steep hill to the temple were shops. All variations of souvenirs were on offer. Clothes, toys, food and combinations thereof. We fought through the crowd stopping at most of the shops to take a look and did a little shopping while we were at it. It took a long time to get to the top of the hill with all the distractions. The view from the top down was of a sea of people.
The temple its self started with a big wooden gate and opened out to a temple similar to that of the one we went to in Nara. But much bigger. The view from this temple was tree tops of all colours and a horizon of buildings to Kyoto. It was a great sight and we took more photos at this point. We took our time and walked around the temple taking photos of whatever caught our eye. The hundreds of other people around us did the same. The serenity of the place was lost due to the number of people and the noise they made. I imagine that when there are less people the temple is almost silent bar the sounds of the birds in the surrounding trees. We followed he path away from the temple and down towards the hill. The route took us past a fountain of sorts where water pours from a roof at 3 points and into a small pond. People paid to line up and drink from this water as it fell. The significance of this was lost on me and I should really look up what the fuss was all about. There were a few other monuments on the way back to the hill and once back we took the rest of the now fading day to shop and explore on the hill. Some point later when it was dark we made the trip back to the bus and subsequently the train. We finished the day off in Umeda at a egg restaurant called tameda tameda (I think) And after our hearty meal set back home to rest up our feet. We had seen very little of Kyoto in that one day and we all agreed that we would have to go back before we head off to Hakuba.
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