Kyoto & Osaka

Japanese people are very short, as evidenced by the height of their doorways and ceilings in our traditional ryokan. [lost the picture I wanted to show]

We wanted local food our first night in Kyoto so we asked the ryokan workers where they usually ate. We decided on a place that had free rice refills because they actually charge for that here! After living in Korea for 2 months where dozens of side dishes, tea, and rice are refilled for free this change had us reeling.

Kyoto tower the night we arrived.

Sightseeing in Kyoto was hectic but we got a lot done. First stop was a Shinto temple beside a bamboo forest. Shintoism is a religion practiced exclusively in Japan that believes in hundreds of demons and gods. From my limited knowledge, I think it’s where a lot of the Anime draws its inspirations. Buddhism is second on the list of practiced religions, though there is a lot of dual belief (one focuses on celebration of life, the other on death). Of course Confucianism is also a strong presence in the culture and lifestyle in Japan.

Our first stop in Kyoto, a small Shinto shrine.

Walking through a bamboo forest, just doing some exploring.

We walked through a traditional castle before lunch. The coolest thing about it was a series of scratching needles beneath the floorboards that intentionally. I guess that’s why ninjas are always running across rooftops. Afterwards we took a bus to Kiyumizu-dera, an amazing Buddhist temple built into a mountain overlooking the city.

In the gardens of Nijo Castle.

Some buildings in the inner of 2 rings of fortifications.

A preserved part of the castle that contained wall paintings and the "singing" floorboards.

A lot of effort went into getting this group shot! Can't recall why we didn't just ask someone...

Lunch at Mos Burger. Quite delicious.

The road leading up to the temple was very similar in Insa-dong in Korea with peddlers of uniquely Japanese gifts lining the narrow cobbled road. The temple entrance had a pagoda, bell, and series of tori gates. The side of the mountain was a cemetery that reminded me (nerd alert) of the one in Ninja Gaiden. Little stone carvings looked over some of the stones, dressed up in ribbons and obviously tended to on a regular basis.

The shopping area leading to the temple.

Approaching Kiyumizudera Temple.

The water here is for purifying your hands and body before entering.

The Buddhist Temple was sprawling across the hillside.

A hillside graveyard, totally like the one in Ninja Gaiden.

We saw a few more areas in Kyoto before catching a train to Osaka for dinner. The Osaka nightlife was remarkably different from any of the other Japanese cities we had seen so far, full of young people in ridiculous outfits and many of the moving/illuminated advertisements unique to Japan. I heard that the population of the city increases significantly once it gets dark.

The closest thing Japanese get to slots, Plinko machines. Very loud.

Takoyaki, the deep-fried octopus balls.

My vending-machine ordered noodles. Prepared by people, though.

We found a restaurant with a vending machine at the entrance for placing your order. The noodles we got were quite tasty, and we also sampled their famous deep-fried octopus balls.

The Glico Running Man ad in Osaka. Goofy dude.

A full day of sightseeing had us exhausted, and we still had a full day of travel day to get to Mount Fuji in time for the sunrise.