Nati on the road: Alone in Kyoto *

After a stop over in Himeji, I went to Kyoto. The magical Kyoto, the former capital of Japan and a city where we can see the old Japan, with its beautiful architecture and geishas.

Kyoto was the capital of Japan and the emperor's residence from 794 until 1868. Because of its historic value the city was dropped from the list of target cities for the atomic bomb and spared from air rides during the World War II. It is one of the best preserved cities in Japan.

However, after arrival to Kyoto when I left the train station, it's its modern face that welcomes me :)

Kyoto Tower

Once again I had to book a capsule hotel, but prices in Kyoto were really high, and capsule was the only accomodation I could afford. This time I boked Centurion Cabin & Spa - very centrally located and opened very recently - so everything was new and modern. This time I got Yukata (sort of kimono) and Geta - wooden flip-flops in which all the guests were walking in the hotel (bathroom was on another floor).

The next morning I started to think what to visit and plan the day. I took my Lonely Planet, I went on the Japan Guide website and.... I was completely lost!!!! There's so much to see in Kyoto (well, mostly temples) that I just had no clue where to start! Additional difficulty was that my boyfriend was supposed to join me two days later, and I wanted to leave some major attractions for him. But which ones are less major, what shall I visit on my own? I don't think I ever had such a big problem and after 1,5h analysis I was still lost and didn't know what to do... Well, it's not easy to plan four days in a city which has 17 Unesco World Heritage sites and nearly 2000 temples and shrines! Not to mention palace, castle, museums etc.

So I decided to start sightseeing from my neighbourhood and walk towards the Kyoto Imperial Palace Park. It was a very hot day, and the Park looked much closer on the map than it turned out to be in reality. The park was nothing special compared to other parks I've seen so far apart from the fact that it was really big and that in the middle of the park there is located Kyoto Imperial Palace. Unfortunately it was possible to visit the Palace only after receiving a special permission, which I did not arrange before.

Then next place which looked close on the map, but in reality was not close at all was the Daitoku-ji - according to Lonely Planet one of the best of Kyoto's temples. After arrival to Daitoku-ji, I realized I misunderstood its description - it was not a temple, it was a complex of 24 Zen temples. While the entrance to the complex was for free, everybody was supposed to buy a ticket to each of the temples. Ok, it was getting a bit complicated - I will not pay a ticket to each temple, it would cost me nearly 100 euro! But since I already got there, I decided to visit at least one temple, but which one to choose out of 24? I went to the guy who was sitting at the entrance to the complex and I asked him:
- which temple is the best?
- the bus? there!
- no, no bus! which temple is the best? top? number one?
-Daitoku-ji number one in Kyoto?
-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Ok, I understood that nobody will help me here, but then the faith helped me in not making a choice anymore, as the 4:30PM arrived and all the temples basically closed....

I came back to the hotel - this time by subway as the heat was killing me - and shortly after I found some nice restaurant near my hotel, and next to Nishiki Market.

After my first day I already understood that Kyoto is a city where you really have to plan in advance what you want to do and to see. Otherwise it's waste of time, as with such an amount of great monuments, it's difficult to be spontaneous. Also, it's better to start visiting early in the morning, as most of the temples close between 16:30-17.00. Last but not least - since in a limited amount of time I have to see many things, then it's better to regroup them in one area. These are maybe simple and obvious truths, however I was always visiting rather spontaneously because I don't think that any city I ever visited had so much to offer as Kyoto!

Therefore I decided to spend my second day nearby my hotel - in Higashiyama area. I started with Shoren-in temple, very much recommended by Lonely Planet. This buddhist temple is known for a beautiful garden, which indeed is nice, however in overall it did not impress me much.

On the way I noticed though a temple that definitely impressed me much! It was Chion-In which serves as the headquarters of the Jodo sect - the largest sect of Buddhism in Japan. Behind the huge gate, there are huge stairs, on the top of which there are a few temples (one in re-construction, thus covered with a pavillion) and the largest bell in Japan :)

I continued my walk towards Gion - the famous entertainment and geisha quarter - walking through the park where I had a lunch and Matcha (green tea) ice cream. It was easy to note that Gion was approaching as plenty of girls were dressed up in kimonos, maybe to feel a little bit like geishas :)

Gion really amazed me! The traditional wooden architecture which I was looking for in Takayama and Kanazawa, was much more visible and present here. Apparently it was only a small part of what could be found many years ago, and I couldn't help but wonder, how amazing it had to look like back then, if it was still so charming now. Gion is one of the very few places in Japan where Geisha (or Geiko or Maiko - apprentice geisha) can be seen, but to my big disappointment I did not manage to spot any. I was only advised on how to behave if I saw one :)

While walking through Gion I saw one more temple which I decided to visit. It was Kodai-Ji, which was not recommeded by any source I was checking. And luckily that I entered there as it really amazed me.

This Zen Buddhist temple was constructed in 1606, and it was particularly beautiful not only because of Zen gardens, but mostly because of richly decorated interiors. Unfortunately, like in most Japanese temples, it was forbidden to take places of interiors.