Kyoto - October 19-20

In Kyoto we stayed in a traditional Japanese guest house (B&B) called a Ryokan.  It was pretty awesome.  When you get to the door you take off your shoes and ring the bell.  A little old man comes and takes your shoes and gives you your key.  An older lady in traditional dress takes you to your room (which has your name on the door) and serves you Japanese tea.  During the day there is a table in the middle of the floor.  Before bedtime the ladies come and put a futon mattress on the floor and move the table to the side.  It was a once in a lifetime experience.

We got to Kyoto Tuesday afternoon and went straight to the Ryokan so we could see what it was like.  Then we went to dinner in the downtown area.  The downtown reminded me a lot of Asheville.  It is still very natural and has lots of restaurants and shops.  We had sushi for dinner then went to Baskin Robbins for desert.  The nice part of 2 people eating like 1.5 people means we can stop for snack. 

Wednesday we went to the Japanese movie land.  It is where a lot of samari movies are filmed and they have sets and costumes from famous Japanese movies.  We got to see a live ninja show.  Then we hung out downtown again.

Thursday we went on the walking tour our book suggested.  It was intense and we got to see a lot.  I know I have said this but the best part of the walking tours is it takes you to places you would never find otherwise and it suggests snack breaks.  We started at a couple temples then walked through the residential area to find a house that was home to a famous potter and set up as a memorial to him.  It was really cool.  Then we headed up to a WWII memorial museum and graveyard.  The graveyard was on a steep hill and was never-ending.  We walked on the path (up the hill) through the graveyard and down another street to get to our next shrine/temple.  The first thing I saw after walking up the hill (and not getting much sleep) was the unreal amount of stairs.  I suggested Adam take the video camera and go up and I would rest.  However the book mentioned a place to get snow cones on the other side of the hill.  That was all the motivation I needed and I got up no problem.  We found the snow cone shop at the end of the trail and continued on to our next destination.  We stopped for lunch at a ramen restaurant and headed to the crafty area of Kyoto.  We didn’t buy much in Japan because everything was so expensive.  Most of the crafty things you get in Japan you can by in Huizhou a whole lot cheaper.  At the end of our walk we went to the train station and headed to our next destination!

Picture Kyoto: I maintain that Kyoto is the Asheville of Japan, beautiful mountain views, really cool local craft shops and fun restaurants.  The people were welcoming to tourists and I would say I saw more tourists the first hour we were in Kyoto then I did the whole time in Tokyo.  I feel like Kyoto is the real Japan.