We left on Friday morning, and got to Kyoto around 1:30ish. We walked/biked around the Gion area of Kyoto for most of the day. There were some amazing views of the city up there. The shops were pretty interesting too, but we didn't have time to go into most of them. There were actually a couple of geisha doing photoshoots. We were really lucky to see them.
We also went to Kennin-ji, which is the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto. It was such a beautiful place, it really made me feel like I was in Japan. The rock garden was particularly cool. I've always wanted to see one.
Kyoto Station.
The Zen Garden at Kennin-ji.
The twin dragons painting at Kennin-ji.
Apparently, they were doing a photoshoot.
Yes, that's the same building from the Geisha picture. I walked/rode my bike up there. T-T
Daibutsu!
We ate at a weird restaurant that night. We just happened upon it, and decided to give it a try. Apparently it was famous for its rice, so we tried it. The rice was excellent, but they sure didn't serve enough of it.
We rode the train to Osaka station, and then looked around Umeda/Kita Osaka. Umeda was pretty cool, but we couldn't find a place to stay. In the end, we stayed at a kinda shady looking hotel because it was the cheapest thing we could find.
I have no idea. O_O
The next day we went to Minami Osaka. I really liked this area. We spent the day exploring Namba, Shinsaibashi, Dontonbori, and Amerikamura. The whole area is really just a big shopping district, but it was pretty fun. There were so many people!
Run Glico Man, run!
There was a Bodyline store. Everything was on sale. And by on sale, I mean CHEAP. Too bad I'm poor.... T-T
There is a story behind this one. Rhett and I were STARVING. We were looking for breakfast, when suddenly we spotted a sign for Belgium Waffles. We immediately headed for the sign at full speed, with our mouths watering the whole way over. When we got to the sign, this is what we saw. There were no waffles. T-T
Forget the cake, THE WAFFLE IS A LIE.
GIANT $300 WATERMELON!
Bling bling?
WTF Japan?
Osaka is known for having good food, but it's famous for Okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake filled with cabbage and meat. Dontonbori is supposed to be the best place to find food, so we ate Okonomiyaki there. It was pretty good, but I think it was a bit heavy on the cabbage.
He's doing it wrong.
We found a manga cafe and stayed there for the night. Actually, we stayed there every night for the rest of the trip. It was super cheap. It was the same chain that we stayed at in Tokyo. And the room we got was long enough for us to stretch out. We ended up getting the same room every night, which was nice.
We got up really early on Sunday. It was Rhett's 22nd birthday. We rode down to the Osaka Dome and saw a great view of the city. We also got to see some of the port.
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It's a Tidal Wave Wall. O_O
After that, we went back down to Minami Osaka and went to the Swissotel's Breakfast Buffet. It was really really REALLY good. I missed having American food for breakfast. We were really stuffed because we ate for like, two hours or something.
We went down to Nipponbashi to see Osaka's version of Akihabara, a place called Den Den Town. It was pretty fun. The best part was playing the PS3 move and trying out the PS3 in 3D. There was an awesome Gundam store too.
That night we went to a Korea restaurant with a lady we met on the train. She was really nice and we had a good time together.
On Monday, we headed back to Kyoto to see the two temples that I really wanted to see: Fushimi Inari and Kinkaku-ji. Unfortunately for me, they are on opposite ends of Kyoto. So, we rode our bikes from one end of Kyoto to the other. It hurt. REALLY BAD. But it was fun.
August 16th is a special festival in Kyoto called Gozan no Okuribi, but most people call it Daimonji. Basically, it's the official end of Obon in Kyoto. Obon is a two week period in Japan in which people believe that their ancestors come back to Earth to visit. It's a time to celebrate family and whatnot. At the end of Obon, the spirits go back to heaven or wherever. To help the spirits on their way, five giant bonfires are lit in the mountains of Kyoto. They each have different shapes with different meanings. We got to see three of them lit, the symbol for "big", the symbols for "wondrous dharma", and the boat. We also got to see on the the symbols for "big" before it was lit.
We went back to Osaka after the festival, and stayed at the manga cafe again. We were really tired after such a long day in Kyoto. After looking at some maps, we figured out that we rode around 35 miles!
On Monday, we headed back to Kyoto to see the two temples that I really wanted to see: Fushimi Inari and Kinkaku-ji. Unfortunately for me, they are on opposite ends of Kyoto. So, we rode our bikes from one end of Kyoto to the other. It hurt. REALLY BAD. But it was fun.
This is just SOME of the torii gates at Fushimi Inari Shrine. The trail of gates extends up the mountain for...well...forever practically. We didn't have time to hike up the whole trail, but if we would have...it would have taken two hours!
Kinkaku-ji is sooo pretty!
August 16th is a special festival in Kyoto called Gozan no Okuribi, but most people call it Daimonji. Basically, it's the official end of Obon in Kyoto. Obon is a two week period in Japan in which people believe that their ancestors come back to Earth to visit. It's a time to celebrate family and whatnot. At the end of Obon, the spirits go back to heaven or wherever. To help the spirits on their way, five giant bonfires are lit in the mountains of Kyoto. They each have different shapes with different meanings. We got to see three of them lit, the symbol for "big", the symbols for "wondrous dharma", and the boat. We also got to see on the the symbols for "big" before it was lit.
PIZZA HUT PIZZA>ALL ELSE. While we watched the fires, we ate pizza.
We went back to Osaka after the festival, and stayed at the manga cafe again. We were really tired after such a long day in Kyoto. After looking at some maps, we figured out that we rode around 35 miles!
One thing we noticed about Osaka was the MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of bikes. Seriously, they were everywhere. In piles. But there were "no bikes here" signs everywhere too. So, everyone ignored them. Including us. Bad idea. Our bikes got impounded the last day of our trip. We got them back, but it was a real hassle.
This is what we found when we woke up on Tuesday. It's a ransom note for our bikes. They did a raid on the whole area and a TON of bikes were impounded.
There were bikes stacked on top of bikes practically.
It was like that pretty much anywhere you looked.
There was no end in sight. Literally.
After we got our bikes back, we left Osaka. Rhett felt like stopping in a little town called Maibara, so we did. We rode our bikes around the town, only to find out that there is NOTHING THERE. No restaurants, no nothing. Well, unless you count the giant tower that was about forty stories taller than anything else in the area. There is also a lake called Lake Biwa. We watched the sunset there. We were hungry, so we rode to the next town over. It was called Nagahama. We found a cute little Italian place, and then rode our bikes back to Maibara station so we could head home.
Giant tower! We call it the "monolith."
Giant tower/monolith from Nagahama. Yes, we rode that far for food.
We had a wonderful trip, but it's good to be home. The Kansai region is REALLY hot, and it makes me very thankful for my AC unit. I've got a lot of resting up to do-- all of the bike riding we did did a number on my muscles.
I've read your trip for Kyoto and Osaka. You and Rhett go a trip without planning, but you find unexpected scene and foods there every time. I'm happy to know both of you enjoyed a lot there. It’s still very hot and muggy, take care of yourself Alexis……
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