Fellow ALT Audrey and I decided to spend a few days in Kyoto, Japan over the New Year's holiday. We booked a hostel for the nights of Dec 30 & Jan 1, but couldn't find anything with availability for Dec 31. "Oh well, something will work out" we said, and took the 'slow' (but cheap) 6 hour train ride. When we arrived at the hostel, we held our breath as the employee checked reservations for Dec 31. We all sighed with great relief when he said they'd had 2 cancellations for Dec 31 & we could stay there all three nights we'd be in town. That is what we'd prayed for & it was wonderful to be able to settle in for the duration of our holiday.
Our first stop was the "Kyoto Tower," similar to Seattle's Space Needle, but shorter and without a restaurant. From the look-out deck, we had the pleasure of seeing a glimpse of a rainbow and 2 kind women who were as excited to have a picture with the foreigners as we were with them dressed in kimono (picture of the latter coming soon).
We jumped right into the New Year's culture & listened & watched monks chanting in a temple. Of course everyone's shoes needed to be left outside...I've learned to check all my socks for holes because of this common practice. 
Some sights around the "old neighborhood" near Kiyomizudera (a temple known for a ledge and a waterfall). 
[now please tilt your head 90' to the left] Kiyomizudera at dusk with friends
That concludes the good parts of Day 1. The evening consisted of an okonomiyaki restaurant where I spent the majority of the time in the bathroom dry-heaving into a Japanese toilet (severe dehydration?). I'll spare you any more details & tomorrow I'll blog about happier times :) Check back soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment