APA Hotel Kyoto Eki Horikawadori

... amazing weather.<br><br>Afterwards, we headed to Kyoto Station and did a bit of exploring there (since the place is freaking HUGE), looking for somewhere to eat for dinner later, and looking for some omiyage (gifts) to bring back to our co-workers (japanese custom). We ended up stumbling upon some sort of college concert performance, which was pretty cool, considering they were playing music from Lupin III and stuff ...

... towel and hairdryer were available. Toilet and bathroom were just located down the same corridor. I am thankful that I'd punched in their numbers the nite before. For a home away from home experience, with english speaking and friendly staff, Shimizu's the place!! Last tip for the day: For the sake of all reviews, believing the ones with ALL good reviews and more than a handful of dozens will never go wrong. zzzzzzzzz

... and incredibly talented. They dance, entertain and never slip up. Never a fault. The crowds of Japanese onlookers stare at them in amazement. Even in their own culture, I don't think they believe that these girls even exist. They are almost magical. So imagine our surprise as we are walking around Kyoto, to pass one on the street, accompanied by body guard and manage to steal a couple of pictures. I ...

... us around the house and were so apologetic when Meho said that the towels would still be five minutes in the drier. OMG. The house is gorgeous. It's a traditional Japanese house with tatami mats and one of the tables that has a heater under it! It's double story but there's windows in the bedrooms that look down onto the kitchen. We have our own little garden that Nat is using as a fridge, fair enough and the toilet is heated and if you press the right ...

... been turned into a museum.<br><br>And that's where the town of Nara comes into play. Nara, is a 'small town' by Japanese standards, and would have gone unnoticed if it weren't for the fact that it holds the largest wooden structure in the world; Todaiji Temple. But the real kicker is that its the longest surviving wooden structure in Japan. Way back when, the Japanese constructed all of their Temples, Shrines and Castles out of wood. Everything was made of wood. Of course, that ...

... foreign country to do nothing but drink *nd p*rty r*ther th*n *ttempt to immerse yourself in s*id countries history *nd culture' lifestyle.<br><br>Al*s, such is their folly. Me*nwhile, in Tom *nd R*ch*el town, our most *wesome prot*gonists t*ke to Os*k*; J*p*n's second l*rgest city, f*mous for it's Veg*s-like entert*inment district 'Dotonbori' for * night on the town. But first we decided to hit Os*k* *qu*rium, described *s prob*bly J*p*n's best *qu*rium. And one cert*inly finds it h*rd ...

The southern isl*nd of J*p*n, Kyushu, is often neglected in its visits by foreigners *nd tr*velers of the world. Fukuok* (or H*k*t*), its c*pit*l city, doesn't offer much in the w*y of sight seeing *nd *dventure. But its the tiny little towns th*t br*nch off from the m*in c*pit*l th*t m*ke Kyushu * pl*ce I wish we spent more time in. Unfortun*tely, we only got to visit one of these tiny towns - tiny in J*p*n is *bout the size of s*y, Perth? - *s we only st*yed in ...

... bathrooms are so unbelievably disgusting, home not only to unprecedented amounts of grime but the dreaded 'squat-style' toilet which is, essentially, a little hole in the ground with some disease ridden bars for you to hold on to? Furthermore, while we're on the subject, what's the deal with the fifty-fifty chance that toilet paper was not installed in the restrooms in question and you were expected to carry your own supplies around with you in your briefcase? It's like ...

... of silk cocoons. We were nicely greeted and browsed for several minutes. I found this district of the city rather enchanting. All sorts of people, tourist, businessmen, and students all bustled around as men carrying rickshaws sped by. After a short time, we made our way to our lunch destination, Sunday's Sun. A Japanese Shoney's best describes this second floor Japanese eatery. I ended up eating with Matt and Stapp and ordering a pork dish that surprise surprise ...

... walked up the hills to the Silver Temple. We arrived there at 5:10. (I remembered quite well the time because the staff didn't let us in. They were closing and not allowed visitors to get in.) After that, we went back to the center "Karasuma Oike" by bus, and at night, we went to the Nijo-jo Castle. Oh! That was really wonderful!! We just couldn't stop taking photos around. April 4th , 2007 Kyoto - A Place ...