Kyoto: The Geisha Capitol

 Day 6: 22nd June

 Disembarking from the bullet train in Kyoto, we were set to have a morning tour of the city.  This included visiting the Nijo Castle, the Kinkakuisi Temple (Golden Palace) and the Kyoto Imperial Palace.  In comparison to Tokyo, Kyoto definitely felt more traditional with regards to the culture of the Geisha girls and less modern despite being a thriving city.  Regardless, it was the perfect chance to see 'real' Japan in comparison to the neon lights everybody thinks of when they hear the word 'Japan'. 

Nijo Castle was the residence of the Tokugawa prestige and contained vast areas of lush gardens with the temple being central to the area. It was surprising to see such a respectful place hidden amongst the city, something that became an apparent trend in Japan.  It is worth noting that we were told before hand that we should bring slip on shoes as we would be required to take them off when entering a temple.  However, Nijo Castle was the only place during our trip where this was implied.  We had about an hour to explore here with our guide, which definitely did not seem long enough.  In fact, our guide told us that if we were late returning back to the bus he would leave without us.  We all laughed as surely, we thought, he was joking.  But 1 minute after we were due to leave, a couple had not yet returned and he left withoout them! So DEFINITELY make sure you meet your guide at the specified time to avoid getting left behind!

The Golden Palace was the next stop on the tour and to say that it was crowded would be an understatement.  A word of advice for those who are not good in crowds (myself included): as soon as you see the temple, there is an area to the left where you are able to take a picture.  This is the first photo spot which was VERY crowded when we went there.  There were a few school trips and I became a bit claustrophobic by the amount of people there.  However, if you walk down the path a bit further it is a lot less crowded and there are even better photo opportunities.  This, again, was a very quick stop where you took a picture and left but was definitely a stop not to be missed.  

This photo was taken down the path away from the crowded area.

 Admittedly, in comparison to the previous two stops, the Kyoto Imperial Palace was slightly disappointing.  Before you jump to conclusions, it was still spectacular to see but the temple itself was beautiful but the grounds themselves were quite plain in comparison to the Nijo Castle!

This signified the end of our tour! Well, the morning one at least.  We took the opportunity to have a bit of relax time in the hotel room as we had been so busy that we were all a bit tired! That evening we had a private tour arranged for the three of us to be shown where the Geisha girls were.  We were incredibly lucky.  There was a time where the Geishas would be transitioning from one point to another, and this was between 6:30 and 6:45.  A 15 minute window....yikes right? Thinking we would see one Geisha, we were happily wandering down one of the streets when all of a sudden 3 Geishas walked by.  Then another 2.  Then another 3.  Reader, we saw about a dozen Geisha girls in 15 mintues.  The guide we had was amazing and had taken us down one of the less crowded streets so we could see as many as we did! The tour guide was from a company called 'Kyoto Walking Tours' and I highly recommend it!

  

Day 7: 23/06

It was time to leave Kyoto and head to Hiroshima.  Now admittedly, not much happened on this day.  We travelled to Hiroshima, had a little explore of the city and headed back to our room. Oh, and had the worst food I've had in my life.  Now, no offence meant here but I guess my tastebuds were still adjusting to the Japanese food.  In the morning naturally we were looking around for a place for breakfast.  We saw a little Chinese restaurant that was quite popular with the locals.  Going off our theory of 'if the locals went there, it must be good!' we ventured inside.  We had missed the advertisement outside stating 'dine with a Geisha girl!' and was greeted by a mannquin sat at our table.  It was covered in cobwebs and the paint was peeling slightly, so was a bit offputting to say the least, especially as its beady eyes were staring right at me.  They seemed to serve omelettes which was perfect for what we wanted, but it turned out that there was only one menu item and you had to order it, no substitutions.  I wish I had taken a picture of it as it looked normal, an omelette with gravy on top (okay maybe not so normal), but the taste was so bad it made me cry.  Fish paste? Check.  Bean paste? Check.  Unknown vegetables and fish scales? Check.  Just typing this makes me feel a bit gaggy.  

The calm before the storm

Oh, and to top it all off before our food arrived a family came in, sat at the table next to us and left again.  Why, you may ask? The walls were decorated with images of 'adult' scenes.  How lovely. 

After this little 'adventure' we found a Starbucks style coffee shop called 'Tully's' just down the road which we dived into.  At least we had attempted the more obscure Japanese/Chinese food! 

Beckora x