04-21-2010, 12:00 PM
April 1, 2010
To Kyoto, Japan's historical stuff capital.
Woke up 7 am- for the reason that we really had to get up early as we were meeting with Hyejin, Sforza's Korean friend over in the train station. Shaking off the cobwebs of sleep, I pakced the last of my stuff in a big bag as we were gonna stay there for 5 days. I really didn't want to bother Sforza yet as I knew he was still pretty tired and well, knocked out. After working out, I took a shower, got dressed, and after checking my stuff again, Sforza woke up and requested that I buy breakfast for the both of us while he got ready. Cabs also woke up early, to help us out in checking the train schedules for kyoto that day. After eating breakfast, we huddled with Cabs for our final instructions on what trains to ride and which stations to get off. Before we knew it, we were on our way to the train station and on the train to Kyoto.
The trip it self was pretty long, and it didn't help us at all that we were still pretty groggy and stuff. We then arrived in Main Kyoto station, just took a short cr break and went on to ride another train to Tofukuji station, then the Keihan Line to Demachiyanagi Station in Kyoto, which is pretty much in a good strategic location with respect to the places we will visit. Upon arrival on the station, Jake had to go to the public bathroom to relieve himself as he was still suffering from stomach pain. After that, we then met up with Hyejin and proceeded to procure umbrellas since it was raining, and walk to our guest house in order to drop off our heavy stuff. It was really hard at the time to appreciate Kyoto as it was dark and it was raining, so we really didn't bhttp://www.tekkenzaibatsu.com/forums/usercp.phpother to take a few shots of the place.
Fast forward to a bus ride for our first destination, Kinkaku-Ji, Hyejin suggested we eat first in a ramen joint she knew of that was near the place. The place was nice, as it was pretty cozy and also to note, this was the 4th ramen meal we have had so far on the trip! Although Sforza said that the ramen we had with Cabs was still better, it didn't really stop us from enjoying it(as it STILL blew away anything here). We also appreciated the special fried rice they also served with the meal set as it was stupidly epic-add the gyoza with that and you're pretty much solved. After a really splendid meal, we then walked to Kinkaku-ji, only to discover that there were a lot of people there-which was not a surprise, but the rain really made it harder as it made traversing through the area slower, hence clumping us with the mob more. With regards to the place, the rain didn't really make the main attraction any less pretty-the golden temple was a magnificent sight no matter how you looked at it, and yeah it got a lot of shots from our cameras(taking the actual shots was hard though, as we had to hold an umbrella as well). Walking through small shrines here and there, we finally made it to the end of the kinkaku-ji vicinity. I wasn't really over though, as there were a lot of food stalls selling specialty foods from Kyoto-Sforza, being the food person that he is, tried out some of the delicacies in which he commented that everything was good, but there was this one particular one that really got him going, it was Kyoto's famous Yatsu-hashi, kind of a baked rice flour that has a mochi texture wrapped around a red bean base. I tried one for myself and found that it was really good too, and that Sforza and I were planning to buy some later(not to mention it would be one of Sforza's goals to buy a yatsu-hashi that was not 500 yen, as the fully boxed ones are priced like that, so he's looking for ones that are in a non-box package).
After Kinkaku-ji, we decided to go to Daitoku-ji, so we took a short bus ride, and after a short walk, arrived there. I won't really elaborate much on this as there was almost nothing to see, and it also didn't help that the place was apparently closed off at the time, so we immediately left and went to Gion, the more, urban and Makati-esque area of Kyoto. Upon arrival in Gion I did somewhat of an epic fail, as the three of us managed to sleep inside the bus, and I lost my umbrella in the process as it slid off my hand and I didn't really want to delay the bus any longer than I did already when I was searching for it. Walking around Gion, I managed to get myself a new wallet, from P.S.FA, and we then walked around some more(I also got myself another umbrella). After walking around and looking at a number of interesting shops, we then decided that it was time to fill our almost empty stomachs.
Hyejin suggested that we go to this sushi-conveyor-belt place that we see in anime. Food was good, with too many selections for me to choose from-albeit I did limit myself from eating too many plates, as each plate costed about 105-200 yen. . Sforza though, in contrast to my 5 plates total, gobbled an astonishing 11 plates worth of moving sushi and other stuff.....stupidly amazing, but I was not surprised. After eating ,Hyejin suggested that we go pontou-chou, a famous small street in kyoto that was known for it's historical value iirc, and for the string of restaurants and various other shops it possessed. It also had a section where there were a lot of geisha rental like shops/inns. Walking through it was really nice, as it was one of those times that I really felt that I was indeed in Japan, again, it felt surreal. Finally, after getting tired and stuff(and also me surprisingly getting a swollen foot that couldn't take much weight for no reason), we decided to go back to the guest house and call it a day. I also have to note that the room we had in the guest house was REALLY nice. It was small, but it could accommodate 4 people, plus it had a hot shower and bath tub-and did I mention that it was CLEAN? Anyway, when we got back, we surveyed the room, got a few instructions from owner-san on how to use the heater and other stuff, and well, just sunk on our beds after. Day one in Kyoto started off slow, but ended up being really memorable-and the good part was, it was only just the beginning.
Quotable stuff:
Arch_angel: OMG I HAS VAPOR!(referring to vapor seen from breath in the cold
sforza: Honestly, WTF are we doing here...? (referring to the really stale visit in Daitoku-ji)
To Kyoto, Japan's historical stuff capital.
Woke up 7 am- for the reason that we really had to get up early as we were meeting with Hyejin, Sforza's Korean friend over in the train station. Shaking off the cobwebs of sleep, I pakced the last of my stuff in a big bag as we were gonna stay there for 5 days. I really didn't want to bother Sforza yet as I knew he was still pretty tired and well, knocked out. After working out, I took a shower, got dressed, and after checking my stuff again, Sforza woke up and requested that I buy breakfast for the both of us while he got ready. Cabs also woke up early, to help us out in checking the train schedules for kyoto that day. After eating breakfast, we huddled with Cabs for our final instructions on what trains to ride and which stations to get off. Before we knew it, we were on our way to the train station and on the train to Kyoto.
The trip it self was pretty long, and it didn't help us at all that we were still pretty groggy and stuff. We then arrived in Main Kyoto station, just took a short cr break and went on to ride another train to Tofukuji station, then the Keihan Line to Demachiyanagi Station in Kyoto, which is pretty much in a good strategic location with respect to the places we will visit. Upon arrival on the station, Jake had to go to the public bathroom to relieve himself as he was still suffering from stomach pain. After that, we then met up with Hyejin and proceeded to procure umbrellas since it was raining, and walk to our guest house in order to drop off our heavy stuff. It was really hard at the time to appreciate Kyoto as it was dark and it was raining, so we really didn't bhttp://www.tekkenzaibatsu.com/forums/usercp.phpother to take a few shots of the place.
Fast forward to a bus ride for our first destination, Kinkaku-Ji, Hyejin suggested we eat first in a ramen joint she knew of that was near the place. The place was nice, as it was pretty cozy and also to note, this was the 4th ramen meal we have had so far on the trip! Although Sforza said that the ramen we had with Cabs was still better, it didn't really stop us from enjoying it(as it STILL blew away anything here). We also appreciated the special fried rice they also served with the meal set as it was stupidly epic-add the gyoza with that and you're pretty much solved. After a really splendid meal, we then walked to Kinkaku-ji, only to discover that there were a lot of people there-which was not a surprise, but the rain really made it harder as it made traversing through the area slower, hence clumping us with the mob more. With regards to the place, the rain didn't really make the main attraction any less pretty-the golden temple was a magnificent sight no matter how you looked at it, and yeah it got a lot of shots from our cameras(taking the actual shots was hard though, as we had to hold an umbrella as well). Walking through small shrines here and there, we finally made it to the end of the kinkaku-ji vicinity. I wasn't really over though, as there were a lot of food stalls selling specialty foods from Kyoto-Sforza, being the food person that he is, tried out some of the delicacies in which he commented that everything was good, but there was this one particular one that really got him going, it was Kyoto's famous Yatsu-hashi, kind of a baked rice flour that has a mochi texture wrapped around a red bean base. I tried one for myself and found that it was really good too, and that Sforza and I were planning to buy some later(not to mention it would be one of Sforza's goals to buy a yatsu-hashi that was not 500 yen, as the fully boxed ones are priced like that, so he's looking for ones that are in a non-box package).
After Kinkaku-ji, we decided to go to Daitoku-ji, so we took a short bus ride, and after a short walk, arrived there. I won't really elaborate much on this as there was almost nothing to see, and it also didn't help that the place was apparently closed off at the time, so we immediately left and went to Gion, the more, urban and Makati-esque area of Kyoto. Upon arrival in Gion I did somewhat of an epic fail, as the three of us managed to sleep inside the bus, and I lost my umbrella in the process as it slid off my hand and I didn't really want to delay the bus any longer than I did already when I was searching for it. Walking around Gion, I managed to get myself a new wallet, from P.S.FA, and we then walked around some more(I also got myself another umbrella). After walking around and looking at a number of interesting shops, we then decided that it was time to fill our almost empty stomachs.
Hyejin suggested that we go to this sushi-conveyor-belt place that we see in anime. Food was good, with too many selections for me to choose from-albeit I did limit myself from eating too many plates, as each plate costed about 105-200 yen. . Sforza though, in contrast to my 5 plates total, gobbled an astonishing 11 plates worth of moving sushi and other stuff.....stupidly amazing, but I was not surprised. After eating ,Hyejin suggested that we go pontou-chou, a famous small street in kyoto that was known for it's historical value iirc, and for the string of restaurants and various other shops it possessed. It also had a section where there were a lot of geisha rental like shops/inns. Walking through it was really nice, as it was one of those times that I really felt that I was indeed in Japan, again, it felt surreal. Finally, after getting tired and stuff(and also me surprisingly getting a swollen foot that couldn't take much weight for no reason), we decided to go back to the guest house and call it a day. I also have to note that the room we had in the guest house was REALLY nice. It was small, but it could accommodate 4 people, plus it had a hot shower and bath tub-and did I mention that it was CLEAN? Anyway, when we got back, we surveyed the room, got a few instructions from owner-san on how to use the heater and other stuff, and well, just sunk on our beds after. Day one in Kyoto started off slow, but ended up being really memorable-and the good part was, it was only just the beginning.
Quotable stuff:
Arch_angel: OMG I HAS VAPOR!(referring to vapor seen from breath in the cold
sforza: Honestly, WTF are we doing here...? (referring to the really stale visit in Daitoku-ji)
