Kyoto: Part 1

Last weekend I had an amazing time in Kyoto with Stephanie, Tomoko and our great "tour guide" Haruhi.  Harhui went to university in Kyoto, so she knows all of the temples and the city very well!

We took the Hikari Shinkansen from Odowara station to Kyoto station after work on Friday.  Once we arrived we checked into our ryokan room and made a plan for the next morning, while having some tea.  After we were done the staff came and laid out our futons for us.  It was a very cozy setup, much like a sleepover from when we were kids!

 The next morning we got up very early and stopped at a little restaurant to have some breakfast.  I had salmon, miso soup, rice and an egg.  Very tasty!

 Our first stop was the temple Fushimi Inari.  Inari means wolf - you can see one of them in the picture!  This might have been my favorite temple of the weekend!

 Here is the reason why it was my favorite!  Thousands of tori gates line a 4 km path up the side of a mountain!  It was amazing!  We didn't walk the whole path, but what we saw blew my mind!

Some of them were huge!  The writing on them says who donated money for them and where they lived.

 Our next stop was Tofukuji.  This was a very popular place to see the leaves!  In Japan they call the fall leaves "koyo".  Koyo season is an extremely busy time in Kyoto and there were lines almost everywhere!

 There was a lot of joking this weekend about how my coat blended in well with the koyo!

 This is a rock garden - a lot of people seem to sit and contemplate the rock garden for a while.  I was amazed at how much work it must take to make it look perfect every day!

 Tomoko posing with what's left of the koyo.

 I really liked this garden.  Gardens are serious business in Japan!

 Here is Haruhi, our Kyoto expert.  She even carried a big umbrella like a professional tour guide.  Or maybe for the rain.

This amazing sight is from Kiyomizu temple.  A lot of this site was under construction, but the distant views were still very nice.

 I liked the reflection of the trees in the lake!

 This is in Maruyama park, which is very famous for the cherry blossoms in the spring.  It's not too shabby in the fall either!

After this we went to a kimono rental shop and got all dressed up for dinner - I'll share that in the next post!  

Tokyo Sky Tree and Asakusa

On Sunday I woke up early and headed to Tokyo to go to the Sky Tree.  I was hoping that by going early in the morning the sky would be clear and I would get a good view!  When I got there, the sky was a gorgeous blue!  I went to the courtyard of the tower where I got in a big line.

 I soon learned that the line was not to get in to the tower, but to get a ticket to return at a later time.  A time when I could then buy an actual ticket that would let me into the tower!

 Luckily I had made other plans close by in Asakusa, so I took the subway one stop to Asakusa Station. (Not to be confused with the other station named Asakusa station...!)  I visited the Senso-ji, a very famous and large temple.

 This 4 level pagoda was very impressive!

 I always love the mix of old and new, it always feels so significant to me for some reason!

 There was some incense burning outside the temple - people wave it on to themselves.  Especially if they have body aches or pains, they try to get the smoke on that area.

 This lantern was GIANT!

 A side view of the main temple building.  It was really quite large and nicely kept.

 After visiting the temple I took advantage of the the sprawling street market shops and restaurants   For fear of tetrodotoxin poisoning, I did not have lunch here - there were lots of people taking picture of the puffer-fish!

 Another view of the sky tree!

 After getting tired of fighting the crowds at Asakusa, I took my shopping spoils back to the mall underneath the sky tree, where I took a break with some hot chocolate from Starbucks. :)

 And then it was time to go buy my ticket.  Notice how the clouds have rolled in - bummer!

The elevator on the way up to the first observation deck was really pretty!

 This is a bad picture, but I thought it was neat how they showed you the current height and speed of the elevator.  It was very fast!

 At 350 meters, I could see the shrine I visited earlier in the day!

 The fall leaves are starting to turn in Tokyo - soon it will be winter!

 It's busy as far as the eye can see!

 After paying another fee, you can go up to the second observation deck at 450 m.  The windows here were rounded outwards, and it gave me a feeling of vertigo!

 The shape of this observation deck.  It spirals up the outside of the tower.

Looking down, it looks like some sort of fountain thing going on in the river below!

 Just more views - I think I see a ferris wheel! :)

 I managed to ask someone to take my picture - I really need to learn how to say this in Japanese instead of just miming it with my camera!

At the end of the observation deck you can look down to see where you started!  Pretty cool!

 This is the highest point you can reach in the Sky Tree.

 Back at 350 m there was a small portion of glass floor.  I put one foot on it, but that was it.  Tons of kids were all jumping on it at once, so I had to leave!

As I was leaving the sun was just starting to set - what a wonderful day I had!

Hida-Takayama: Hida-no-Sato

Hida-no-Sato is a folk village with traditional houses of the Hida area.  It tells a good story about how people used to survive in this snowy mountain area before modern conveniences.  Also, it was extremely beautiful with the changing leaves!  The village was a 10 minute bus ride from the Takayama bus center - I was able to buy a combination bus/entrance ticket there!

The view upon first walking in to the village; I was blown away!

Lots of carp lived in the lake, and you better believe that I fed them one of these giant bread sticks.  The ducks tried to eat most of it, actually.  Big bullies.

I think I came here at the right time of year!

 There were small diverted streams all over the village like this.  Most of them had a purpose of some sort.  One filled a bowl on the end of a log and when it filled up and dumped out the other end of the log slapped back down and made a loud noise, to scare off wild boars!

 There weren't many people around, so I had to prop my camera on a sign for this picture.  I really do like a gate!

 I couldn't believe how thick the straw was on this roof!  No wonder it could survive the harsh winters.

 Here is a waterwheel on the pond - it moved an arm inside that ground rice into rice flour.

 The inside of the biggest house, it had a shingle type roof.  There were a few fire-pit areas, but I can't imagine how cold it would have gotten in here!

 I got to ring this bell!  That is something I want to do every time I see one of these, but usually you're not allowed to!  It was awesome!

 The view looking down on the village, after this it was time to head back and make my way home.  This was a great way to end my time in Takayama!