Kyoto and back to Tokyo!

Wow, it's been a few days now... need to catch up! Our first full day in Kyoto we actually spent going for a day trip to Nara. It was raining consistently all day, but I didn’t really mind, as it added to the atmosphere of Nara Park, which was again full of deer. In Nara Park we visited a National Treasures Museum, which housed quite a few magnificent statues, including a 5 meter tall golden Kannon statue, with a great many arms and a serene expression. Unfortunately you weren’t allowed to take photos in there, but there were many beautiful pieces of ancient artwork inside. We also visited the giant Buddha, the largest bronze statue of the Buddha in the world, in Tōdai-ji, the largest wooden building in the world. It was almost 15m tall, and quite impressive. 

Manhole cover in Nara - featuring deer!

Craig vs deer face-off

 Tōdai-ji, which houses the gigantic Buddha

The huge bronze Buddha

Two heads are better than one...

Another statue in Tōdai-ji

The next day we went to Inari Shrine in Kyoto. The actual shrine itself is composed of several white and orange buildings surrounded by fox statues, but the main feature of the complex is thousands of bright orange torii gates lining a path throught the forest. It was somewhat mystical and very enjoyable walking through the bright orange gates in amongst the trees. The temple is also said to be home to kitsune (fox) spirits, hence why there were many fox statues guarding the gates. Some of the ema (wooden cards you write prayers/wishes on) were also fox themed, and people had drawn some pretty amusing expressions on the fox faces!

Entrance to Inari Shrine

A fox guardian by the gate

Praying

Which way??

Calling someone 'foxface' has a new meaning now...

Gates through the forest

After Inari Shrine we went to Arashiyama (once we eventually found it, several train and tram rides later), and visited the Tenryuji Zen Temple. It was surrounded by a beautiful garden, with a large pond filled with koi, gravel gardens, and trails up the hill side, surrounded by lush greenery and dainty flowers. We also went through the Temple hall itself, and paused several times to sit in the building on the tatami mats and relax in the pleasant breeze, watching the people walk through the garden. The sun was warm, the wind refreshing, and the whole temple felt very peaceful and serene. It was a lovely place to spend the afternoon. 

Outside Tenryuji Temple

 Heron standing by the pond

Sitting in the temple

We returned to Tokyo and Craig departed, after making sure I made it to my next accommodation safely! I then spent a couple days catching up with my very dear friend, who extended her trip in Tokyo just to make sure we could spend time together. She brought her boyfriend along on our first day out, and he was heaps of fun! Although he couldn't speak much English, he quickly caught on to the fact that my sister and I are pretty crazy, and laughed along with us, making the whole day a lot better. So it was my friend, her boyfriend, my sister and I who went to Quil Fait Bon in the Ginza area. It is a expensive cake cafe, with delicious (and pricey) slices of cake to buy and try, along with pots of tea. The cakes were delicious! We then all went to Asakusa and spent the afternoon strolling the markets and making a wish at the temple (5 yen wishes... bargain!)

 Sissy with her cake

 <3

All together at Asakusa

Looks like a strong wind was blowing... except it was dead still! (And so was he)

My friend and I met up again the next day and had lunch out at Sunshine City in Ikebukuro. I had kitsune soba, which had some fried tofu thing on it, and it was actually really tasty! It was so great to catch up with my friend... every time we do we talk so much! 

So then my dilemma was deciding where to go next in order to keep using up my Rail Pass, and so far I have decided on (and acted upon) a three night stay in Himeji, which is the sister city of my own hometown, Adelaide. I am staying in a small backpackers' hostel, but the host is really friendly and lovely, so when I arrived she gave me the double private room since it was being unused! I then went out for a brief stroll and to find some lunch, and then I returned she asked me "Do you like sweets?" to which I replied, "Uh, yeah?" She smiled and said that her friend had just contacted her and said that she had some Japanese sweets ready to eat, so she invited me along and we went and had homemade mochi-rice sweets! It was delicious, and very nice to meet new people. We had a bit of a laugh and a small chat, but as I don't really know Japanese a lot of it was smiling and nodding (and eating delicious sweets, haha!) I felt really lucky to be included in such a private event.

 Delicious hand made Japanese sweets

Then, in the evening, she had a few friends over, and somehow I was included and we had a lovely evening of laughs and lots of great food! Some of them could speak a little English, but for the most part they spoke Japanese, so there was quite a bit of miming or sounding out a few words going on. We talked about Miyazaki's movies quite a bit, and Fullmetal Alchemist (one of them had read it and we shared a bond by miming the characters, which got a huge laugh when we got to Armstrong and his 'muscles'). We even spoke about k-pop! It was a great evening, and once again, I felt incredibly lucky to be involved. 

So now I have a few days in Himeji to enjoy (even though the actual Himeji Castle is currently undergoing major reconstruction - it's 2 years into a 5 year project), so I'll be taking it easy and enjoying a bit of the Japanese sun!