Maruko Inn Kyoto

... that.<br><br>Jack then met up with us and we got some grub at an Om-rice (fried-rice omelet) which was realllll y good. Then, well, not much else to say, except afterward we hopped on the Shinkansen to head back to Tokyo, from where I would head back to Tome! And that was the end of our Kyoto trip...short, but fun last day!<br><br>(Sorry for the short and long-awaited post. I promise many more are coming very soon!)<br>

... leading zen temple which has a mighty cherry blossom garden of it's own to boast of. Togetsukyo Bridge- 1 of top 15 cherry tree blossoms view in whole of Japan with a spectacular 1500 cherry blossom trees. Bamboo groves- bamboo forest After an afternoon of out of this world sights and some shopping, we took the JR train back to Keiko Sanjo station to Yasaka ...

... the ottoman palaces where each room has a specific function, i was surprised to learn that the shogun slept, lounged and worked in the same room. took a cab to kinkaku-ji, a 14th century Buddhist temple that initially was the peaceful home of a retired shogun. each floor of the 3-storied temple has been built in a different style and the 2 upper floors have been covered by gold. this glittering building was situated right by the pond. moved on to ryoan-ji. a zen Buddhist ...

... ganar tiempo. Mi primer y anhelado templo para avistar era el KinKakuji Temple o más bien conocido como el Golden Pavillion construido en 1397, pero el actual es de 1955, ya que el original fue incendiado por un fanático en 1950. Desde mis consultas de sitios en Japón, este era uno de los que mas me habían impresionado y sin dudas así fue. En su entrada un inmenso jardín, con árboles frondosos y después de pasar la caseta de entrada aparece inminente este templo ...

... year which was when we just so happened to swing by. Hoorah! In Nara, there is a temple where the main rituals occur, the path leading up to which is lined with three thousand stone lanterns that are lit only on that particular day . The temple itself holds its own lanterns, and everyone lights their own paper ones and places them within the temple to bring good luck for the new season. Its was awesome, and felt as though we were part of ancient rite. Maaagical.<br><br>As for ...

... nd oldest wooden structure; which is, impressively, due to fires *nd gener*l *ging, only one third of its origin*l size. Needless to s*y the visit w*s nothing short of bre*tht*king, *nd the surviving structure * true test*ment to J*p*nese *rchitecture. The Buddh*'s st*tue itself is just so liter*lly overwhelming in its sheer immensity th*t words c*nnot do it justice. It must be seen to be believed. An experience, I liken to the loc*ls *nnu*l L*ntern Festiv*l, 'Setsubun', which we h*d ...

... Shogun*te. Its dec*dently l*id out with gold-le*fed p*intings *nd wood c*rvings, *nd h*s wh*t *re c*lled 'Nighting*le Floors' which *re like *n *ncient house *l*rm system. The floorbo*rds *re so tightly bound together th*t they m*ke high pitched 'singing' sounds when stepped on, me*nt to w*rn the residents of *n intruder. Prob*bly m*de the trip for * secret midnight ice cre*m binge kind of tricky.<br><br>AND th*t is th*t, for now. Until l*ter,<br><br>R*ch*el Out.<br>

... trip to the bathroom is a game of Russian roulette; an experience some of us had to learn the hard way (Rachael).<br><br>That aside, we recently crossed on over to the other side, to briefly explore the great isle of Kyushu. For those of you playing the home game, we were - and presently now are - residing upon Honshu, the biggest of Japan's four islands. First up was ye olde town of Fukuoka, which, while not home to any extraordinary sights beyond its fantastic ramen ...

... it out. One all day ticket later I was on the tube My first stop was to be the Heian Shrine this is located on the east side of Kyoto where you can find lots of places of worship and a look at the older and more traditional side of the city. Heian Shrine is a fairly large place with a huge temple building and fantastic gardens. After about ten minutes of being there I was lucky enough to witness a ceremony with singing chanting and an amazing dance performed by orange and white ...

... you. You know what, a year ago I saw some pictures of Fushimi in the internet taken by a cool guy. His nickname is Perfil. The way how he took those pictures was amazing and his pictures inspired me to go there someday!! Now, I am really in that place!!! I really happy about that! Thanks him a lot to sharing his pictures taken in such a beautiful place. We got there around noon and we stayed there until 4 o ...