Yes...strange opening photo. This is not a time machine. This is the shower in our Kyoto Capsule Ryokan. The young hotel owner wanted to blend the best of both worlds...the small space of the capsule with the traditional Ryokan tatami mats and futons. The shower is in the main room...so you make sure to close the doors! Water comes from the ceiling, the walls and a handheld sprayer. The thing does everything but shave your legs. The toilets here are also amazing...heated seats, bidets, lids that open and close automatically, flush automatically, talk to you...one even made the sound of "river water".
We arrived in Kyoto, and headed to Nishiki Market...which has a staggering variety of foods. Above we noted eel, sweetbreads, and other unidentifiable meaty things.
That evening we walked through Ponto-Cho hoping to run into the elusive geisha. It is estimated that there may only be 100 geisha left in Kyoto. It is not considered polite to take their picture up close or speak with them. We managed to snap this from a side alley with me "posing" for the photo.
The next day we attended the Hollyhock festival which dates back to the 6th century and commemorates the successful prayers of the people for the gods to stop calamitous weather.
There were over 600 people (and horses) in traditional costume.
Lunch was a famous noodle shop called Omen. You start with a broth and add sesame seeds, vegetables and noodles a little at a time...creating a different flavor each time you change things around. Delicious!
Next up was Ginkaku-Ji...another temple. At this point we are rather "templed out"...but the gardens never fail to amaze us. It is difficult to capture in a photo..but the variety of green colors seen among the trees is stunning!
We walked between temples along the Path of Philosophy. It was named after a 20th century philosopher who was said to have meandered along the path lost in thought. Not a bad place to be.
Nanzen-ji...this is the Leaping Tiger Garden...a classic Zen garden.
Lonely Planet guidebook led us to a small shrine-temple hidden in a forested hollow. It is a sacred place where worshippers come to pray. We had it to ourselves.
We hiked up into the forest behind the shrine and found an ancient cemetary. Lucky for us the trail did lead back to the village eventually. We wanted to avoid the Kyoto daily news.
After dinner we walked down Shimbashi, one of Kyoto's most beautiful streets. It followed this beautiful creek, and was lit by lanterns.
Our last day in Kyoto we took the train to Arashiyama to walk through the famous bamboo grove. When the wind blows the bamboo sways, and small leaves rain down. Very beautiful! Next up...Nara.
Yes...strange opening photo. This is not a time machine. This is the shower in our Kyoto Capsule Ryokan. The young hotel owner wanted to blend the best of both worlds...the small space of the capsule with the traditional Ryokan tatami mats and futons. The shower is in the main room...so you make sure to close the doors! Water comes from the ceiling, the walls and a handheld sprayer. The thing does everything but shave your legs. The toilets here are also amazing...heated seats, bidets, lids that open and close automatically, flush automatically, talk to you...one even made the sound of "river water".
We arrived in Kyoto, and headed to Nishiki Market...which has a staggering variety of foods. Above we noted eel, sweetbreads, and other unidentifiable meaty things.
That evening we walked through Ponto-Cho hoping to run into the elusive geisha. It is estimated that there may only be 100 geisha left in Kyoto. It is not considered polite to take their picture up close or speak with them. We managed to snap this from a side alley with me "posing" for the photo.
The next day we attended the Hollyhock festival which dates back to the 6th century and commemorates the successful prayers of the people for the gods to stop calamitous weather.
There were over 600 people (and horses) in traditional costume.
Lunch was a famous noodle shop called Omen. You start with a broth and add sesame seeds, vegetables and noodles a little at a time...creating a different flavor each time you change things around. Delicious!
Next up was Ginkaku-Ji...another temple. At this point we are rather "templed out"...but the gardens never fail to amaze us. It is difficult to capture in a photo..but the variety of green colors seen among the trees is stunning!
We walked between temples along the Path of Philosophy. It was named after a 20th century philosopher who was said to have meandered along the path lost in thought. Not a bad place to be.
Nanzen-ji...this is the Leaping Tiger Garden...a classic Zen garden.
Lonely Planet guidebook led us to a small shrine-temple hidden in a forested hollow. It is a sacred place where worshippers come to pray. We had it to ourselves.
We hiked up into the forest behind the shrine and found an ancient cemetary. Lucky for us the trail did lead back to the village eventually. We wanted to avoid the Kyoto daily news.
After dinner we walked down Shimbashi, one of Kyoto's most beautiful streets. It followed this beautiful creek, and was lit by lanterns.
Our last day in Kyoto we took the train to Arashiyama to walk through the famous bamboo grove. When the wind blows the bamboo sways, and small leaves rain down. Very beautiful! Next up...Nara.
excellent photos, kyoto looks so beautiful. how hard is it dealing with the language barrier?
ReplyDeleteDifficult in restaurants...we had to point at pictures a lot..which could be dicey! They all say they "don't speak english" but many can speak enough to help us!
ReplyDelete