Hotel Hokke Club Kyoto

... lumihuippuisine vuoristomaisemineen, mutta silti kadun ettei jääty Gerossa. Siinä paikassa oli jotain todella kiehtovaa ja mielenkiintoista! Varma kohde ensi kerralla...

Pari tuntia käveltiin ympäri Takaymaa, jonka jälkeen haettiin kunnon matkaeväät kaupasta ja hypättiin takaisin Nagoyaan menevään junaan. Se oli siinä. Olipa melkoinen pikavisiitti tämä, mutta pelkkä junamatka jo teki reissusta todellakin vaivan arvoisen! Tämän junareitin voi ilman ...

... noin 10 minuuttia, eikä siinä ehtinyt kuin lyödä ahterinsa penkkiin ja avata teejuoman, niin oltiinkin jo perillä! Shin-Koben asemalta lähdettiin kävelemään (tietysti taas) kohti Kobe Lumierea ja löydettiinkin paikka parin kilometrin talsimisen jälkeen.

Ja kannatti kyllä kävellä, koska tosi komea oli tämä Lumiere ja aivan mielettömästi oli tullut ihmisiä sitä katsomaan. Valoista oli tehty ikään kuin kirkon seinät ja massiivista kirkkomusiikkia raikui ...

Today we spent the morning to touring around Kyoto before catching our train back to Tokyo. We stopped to visit the Nijo Castle which was originally bulit in 1603 as the official home of the first Tokugawa Shogun. Although it didn't have the beautiful gardens like the temples it was still a very interesting place. It even had a moat like European castles. We then went to see the Kyoto Imperial Palace. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to go ...

... beside me at the traffic junction. Everyone else and in the cars had eyes on her. Regretably, I didnt dare to take a pix of her. We barely made it in time back for dinner at 1845hrs. After which, we were seemingly coerced to partake in a tea ceremony conducted by Yoshi-ima. In the tea house located in the premise of the small garden within the Ryokan. The whole funny ...

... beet-like vegetables with their heads covered. reminded me of Turkish villagers. the only difference was their slanted eyes and the traditional Japanese looks of their 2-storied houses. hiked up the hill to get to sanzen-in and raigo-in. although these temples were surrounded by dense forests of green, red and yellow trees, i didn`t enjoy them. there were way too many Japanese tourists. also, i think i`m about to overdose on temples. i preferred getting lost ...

... góndolas, restaurantes para disfrutar desde un te hasta un almuerzo japonés. Debajo de la terraza se encuentra una fuente de agua donde se puede beber el agua que supuestamente tiene poderes. Es un lugar mágico y lleno de diversidad cultural. Mi próxima parada fue el Nijo Castle fue construido por Tokugawa Leyasu unos de los hombres mas poderoso de Japón en la época de Edo y el cual fue su residencia y la de sus siguientes generaciones. Su diseño con ...

... un-safe. Afterwards, a good nights rest in our Japanese style inn. Comfortable and relaxing. We are now ready to explore the old Kyoto, the old capital city of Japan. Rich in culture and tradition. Just a step out of the ancient city is the modern Japan. This place has as many temples and shrines as Rome has churches and cathedrals. Few hours into the exploration, I am ...

... country wide for its volcanic hot springs - some of which for bathing, whilst others still, though too hot for human flesh, are beautiful spectacles. Sulfuric steam seems to spout from every which drain, gutter and pipe available to it, rising above the houses built upon houses, adding a fantastic atmosphere about the quaint, crowded little town. Our first stop was the affectionately named 'Monkey Mountain Park', home to some 1,200 wild snow monkeys which roam about ...

... water just off the island). Both places were quite extraordinary but it is the hike I took at Miyajima that really stands out as a highlight for the day. What started out as a leisurely stroll through a park, soon turned into a 5-hour hike through some of the slipperiest, most godawful terrain I have ever encountered. Finally, after about 3.5 hours I actually saw another human being--which was quite comforting at that point because I had started to worry slightly that I was ...

... good. What can I say? I'm a Southerner. I'll slather BBQ sauce onto damn near anything. In the States, where we're supposed to all more or less speak the same language, I have about a 40% chance of them getting a plain order correct (or any order, for that matter). And yet here in Japan, where I knew all of three words, they nailed it on the first try and made it fun. Ellie ordered the chicken nuggets, which were a lot easier. Who would have thought that chicken nuggets would ...