The Stillness of Kyoto

We checked into Kyoto Station Hotel and had lunch at the station at Lotteria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotteria )so we kind of gave into Western food or at least an Asian version of it.  Joe had a Teriyaki burger with egg, I had an EBI burger (which the Asian people claim is fried lobster—we later discover that their “lobster” is really shrimp and the EBI burger is a seafood melody with shrimp.  We took a city bus to Kiyomizu-dera Temple which was reconstructed in 1633.  This temple is a candidate for one of the new 7 wonders of the world (http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php).  This temple is part of the Higashiyama Walk.  We also saw the Otowa Waterfall.  The Otowa Waterfall is believed to have holy water—I was able to get a drink from it.  There was a long line leading to get a drink from this waterfall.  When you take a drink at Otowa Waterfall you must make a request to Buddha.  We then went to the Yasaka Pagoda (http://www.2000cranes.com/Kyoto_Mist/KM_april_2001.htm)  It was built in 1440—pagoda is a great architectural design—see the many tiers.  We went to to another temple called Kejui at the Kiyomizu-Zaka street market.  We bought some more souvenirs at that market.  Joe tried a fried shrimp and onion bar on a stick (which he really liked).  I had some Cherry Blossom ice cream—this had a delicate sweet taste with a hint of floral.  We took a taxi back to the Kyoto station hotel.  

 Kyoto Pagoda

Hotel Granvia Kyoto (http://www.granvia-kyoto.co.jp/e/).  In the evening we went to Kyoto Tower.  That evening we went to a little teriyaki place and had teriyaki and a baked rice ball.  We met a girl from London about our age who was by herself and joined us for dinner.  She kept us informed on the social life of Princes William and Harry.

Day 5- Saturday, April 14^th

In the morning we gave in again to Western food.  Joe had Mr. Donut and I had some beignets and café mocha from Café DuMonde.  We walked to the Higashi Honganzi temple in Kyoto.  We took the subway to Kyoto Gion and saw the Kyoto Imperial Palace

home of the late imperial family.  At Kyoto Gion we saw maiko girls, who are not geishas.  They are the tourist’s geisha.  We did see one geisha in the streets of Kyoto.  She was a real geisha because she was shy and hurried across the street.  Real geishas are almost like mythical creatures they are very rare in today’s Japan—if you see them you will likely see them in Kyoto.  We went back to the Kyoto train station to have lunch at Lotteria (so we cheat twice in one day).  I had fries from Subway (that is different) and Joe had an EBI burger from Lotteria.  We checked out of the hotel to take a bullet train to Tokyo to go to a Kabuki theater show at the Kabuki-Za Theater.

 Maiko Girls