가라 in 구미: Kyoto Japan

So here you are...Erik and I's photos from our trip to Japan. I have been procrastinating putting these up because there are so many of them and I didn't want to type so much! Hopefully I can still remember what we did and what the names of the places we visited are haha.

Here is our first view from the plane window. We had some airport trouble, but we finally made it to Osaka airport around six at night. We missed out first plane by less than a minute so we had to book another one that flew out a little later. I don't want to go into more detail because it is too stressful to remember haha, but anyway we got there!

After having more bad luck with the ATM and getting over our disappointment because of the bad currency exchange (Won is not that good when changing to Yen!), we had no trouble finding the train to Kyoto. Here you can see all the Japanese waiting patiently while they cleaned the train. I on the other hand did not appreciate the cleanliness as much as Erik did.

Yay! Kyoto.

As we were walking I saw the McDonald's and made Erik say it in Japanese. I can still not say it even though I make him say it all the time.....MacaDonarodo??? Haha

We went out for Sushi the first night we were there. We thought we would get some Sake to go with it.

We stayed at Ryokans, Traditional Japanese hotels. All of them had Yukatas, cotton summer/bath robes. Here is Erik posing for a picture.

And I bought Japanese junk food. I actually just liked the squirrels =)

Here is a picture of our room. They keep the futons in the closet. There is a table in the center of the room when you first come in, and when you are ready to make the bed you can move the table off to the side.

In the morning we went back to Kyoto Station to find some maps and get directions to where we wanted to go.

Erik trying to figure out what bus to take. You can see the lady in the kimono in the background.

Look how clean the streets are!

Here is a Jizo Shrine. This deity is popular all over Japan. He is thought to protect children who died before their parents . I found this little blurb off of Wikipedia if you want to know more.....

In Japanese mythology, it is said that the souls of children who die before their parents are unable to cross the mythical Sanzu River on their way to the afterlife because they have not had the chance to accumulate enough good deeds and because they have made the parents suffer. It is believed that Jizō saves these souls from having to pile stones eternally on the bank of the river as penance, by hiding them from demons in his robe, and letting them hear mantras. The statues can sometimes be seen wearing tiny children's clothing or bibs, or with toys, put there by grieving parents to help their lost ones and hoping that Jizō would specially protect them. Sometimes the offerings are put there by parents to thank Jizō for saving their children from a serious illness. Jizō's features are commonly made more babylike to resemble the children he protects.

This is the first place we visited, and probably my favorite. The temple wasn't crowed at all, so we could enjoy the quiet.

I liked the Bamboo forest. I didn't know bamboo got that tall!

Heading to Koto-in Zen Temple est. in 1601 by the military leader Hosokawa Tadaoki.

Taking a rest.

Playing in a wash basen in the garden. The stone that makes up this basin was actually from the Joseon Dynasty Palace in Korea. The stone was brought (don't know if they asked or not...;) ) back to Japan during the war and placed in the garden of Koto-in.

I don't really know what this is, but thought a stone that looks like it should be hanging from something, but instead is just sitting in the garden, would make and interesting picture.

Our first glimpse of Fall color.

We had to put on funny garden slippers to walk outside because out shoes where at the front door of the temple.

Sunbathing cats.

Another Jizo shrine, but a lot bigger. I didn't like it here. It made me uncomfortable.

The sign was too big to fit! You probably weren't going to read it anyway =)

A monk walking down the path.

Japan's smallest rock garden.

The Japanese version of the sign above.

Scary fox painting!

Dragon painted on sliding doors in Ryogen-in Zen Temple.

These are paintings in the waiting room of Ryogen-in.

After visiting Daitoku-ji we passed this restaurant with cute illustrations of the food they served.

Kyoyochi Pond at Ryoanji Temple.

The rock garden at Ryoanji Temple, is said to have been created around 1500. It is actually a rectangle, but it is distorted because of the panoramic picture. There are only fifteen rocks and white gravel in this garden. It is meant to jog the viewers imagination.

The earthen walls in the back surround the garden. The walls are made by clay boiled in oil. As the walls grew older, the oil seeped out of the clay and made natural designs on the surface.

Although there are fifteen rocks it the garden ,it is designed so that you can not see one of the rocks no matter where you stand.

Two rooms with paintings on sliding doors.

Tree medicine! I don't know what that actually is, but I thought medicine for the trees was a good guess.

Our last tourist destination of the day was The Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku) This was a villa built around 1220, and later made into a temple.

I really like the texture of the reed roof.

I think these are prayer plaques.

We were pretty hungry after sight seeing so we found some more sushi. This place was a lot more fun than the first restaurant we went to.

They charged by the plate after you finished eating, so you could take a plate that was on the conveyor belt, or you could order what you wanted on the little screen and they would send it out on the red bowls. When it came in front of you a little bell would go off to let you know that it was yours.

We ate 10 plates and a bowl of edamame.

Our second ryokan. This one was pretty fancy. They ladies came in and made up our beds for us. They are really super polite, and on her way out she kneels outside of the door, bows, and then shuts the door before getting up. After the door is shut she gets up and leaves. Erik and I didn't really know what to say, and we were just like wow!

Erik enjoying some Japanese TV.

We were looking up hotels to stay at the next night. We took a picture of a bunch of ads so we could look at them later. I thought I would just put one up.

Our last full day in Kyoto. Erik is reading the subway map.

We found this Shinto Shrine on out way to wherever it was that we were going.

More plaques.

Inari Fox, an important symbol in Shintoism.

Me by an old tree. Don't know what it says!

Erik washing his hands before entering Yasaka Shrine. You are supposed to do this to purify yourself before entering.

The Gion. This was a district that was first built to accommodate visitors of the Yasaka Temple, but later developed into one of the best known Geisha districts in Japan.

We stopped for a coffee in a small coffee shop. I has to take a picture of the old Japanese guy eating his sandwich.

Here is the theater at Gion Corner, where we would return later for a performance.

A man cleaning the roof of one of the old buildings.

A Geisha, a geisha in training maybe?? Wikipedia told me that the Geisha in the Gion didn't call themselves "Geisha" but geiko. Geisha means a woman of the arts or an artist, but geiko means a child or woman of art.

Statue of Tanuki, a kind of raccoon canine animal. They are commonly found outside of restaurants and temples. He usually has a large straw hat, a bottle of sake, a big belly and large balls that hang to the floor (oh my!) There are eight symbols of the Tanuki that are said to bring good fortune: a large hat to protect against bad weather, big eyes to see the environment and make good decisions, a sake bottle representing virtue, a tail that provides steadiness and strength, big testicles that symbolize financial luck, a note that represents trust or confidence, a big belly representing bold and calm decisiveness, as well as a friendly smile...I like this guy!

Pontocho was an area in Kyoto known for Geisha, tea houses, and prostitutes. Now a days there are nice outdoor dinning areas that over look the river, theaters and gift shops. I bought some nice lacquerware bowls here.