Christine. 22. Wants to live a simple and boring life.
Amanda Li Ying Meng Kiat Tonggab Yi Wen Yi Xin
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I didn't really expect myself to make such a long post but I've got tons of photos so might as well sort them out and post them here.
Pack ah pack ah~ I very kiasu pack a lot of stuff then in the end some things never even use. -_- If you thought I packed a lot you're wrong because my returning luggage was exploding already.
Yiwen was kind enough to give me the window seat but suay suay kena the wing. Sianded.
SIA makes good food~! <3>
When we touched down on the Osaka international airport we received a really bad shock because the weather was around 5 degrees and I was so amazed when vapour came out from our mouths when we talked. Talk about sua gu. It was so cold we all suddenly piled on lots of clothes outside the airport. The people passing by seeing us must have thought that we're some idiots.
Nothing much to do in the airport, it kind of fell short of my expectations for an International airport. I thought it would have been something near to Narita airport, but not really la. But still, not bad liao la. We took the Haruka express from the airport all the way to Kyoto, which took about an hour and a half. Brought a pass at 2000 yen and it was a really good deal because the normal ticket is 2900 plus! Heh heh~
Kyoto station. I was shivering like mad from the cold when we reached there.
Finally found our ryokan and without even changing clothes or anything we just threw ourselves on the futon which was super shiok.
View from the ryokan. I like to step out to the balcony once in a while to feel the cold air.
Japan has seriously got one of the messiest skylines.
MK took this photo while we're all lying like dead bodies in our futons.
Ya I understand MK you look very handsome.
The curry is super nice!! Now I know why Japanese like their curry so much. It doesn't only taste good, but when you eat it in cold weather it warms you up!
I've never seen so many colourful flowers on roadsides!
I always thought it's a good idea to implement vertical pedestrian roads for crossing.
I remembered we stood below the overhead wires just to stare at how big their crows were. I didn't remember seeing such big crows in Tokyo when I was there 2 years ago!
So we spent our first day just walking around our ryokan's surroundings.
Interesting signboard, something about not badmouthing.
The first Sakura tree we saw up close!
You know, there's something very thought provoking about the Sakura. Whether is it in their beauty, their faintly sweet fragrance or the way they flutter to the ground when the wind blows, admiring one just makes you feel poetic.
There are lots of varities of sakura. Some bloom earlier, and range in hues from vivid pink to white.
I was walking in front, and when I turned back the four of them in this position gave me an idea.
Er so yah the above explains the origins of this picture. Liying's pose is so inappropriate, don't you think?
And the most photogenic award goes to Mr MK!
I had to let my bao bei suffer weird flying insects to take this picture.
Don't you think Liying is attracted to my baobei?
Our dinner: packed ingredients from the supermarket. Hahahahaha
It doesn't look nice but actually it's good!! Hijiki, Konnyaku, egg rolls, spinach miso soup and (unheated) rice is nice~
Lul I dunno who took this picture (I was bathing).
MK despo sia.
Day 2: Kiyomizu-dera
The up slope to Kiyomizu! We didn't really know the way but there was such a huge crowd we just had to follow them la.
This is Kiyomizu temple, a Buddhist temple which is one of the most famous temple in Kyoto. Personally I went there to check out what's the big deal about the temple. It was actually founded in the Heian period and I read that not a single nail has been used to build this temple.
The temple had its own Sakura trees as well~
Looks fun ah, but THE WATER WAS FREEZING! I forgot that we could drink the water.
A kind Taiwanese volunteered to take this photo for us, but I bet she regretted because she didn't really know how to use my baobei.
I think these were the stuff the monks used to use? I saw steel getas which were like super heavy. I can't imagine them wearing it because seriously it'll dislocate your ankle joint.
I think that the Japanese are really quite obsessed about love. From what I saw a lot of them were mostly about how they hope to be together with something kun and something chan together forever. I saw a few hoping for good results, good jobs, but hardly saw any that hoped anything for their families...hrm...
This place was CROWDED with young people, not a surprise with all the "en-musubi", which literally means tying fates together. People who came here mostly were mostly couples and giggling girls hoping to find love.
The famous love stones. There are two of them located at a distance within each other. You're supposed to cross one stone to the other, eyes closed to find true love or something like that. I wanted to try but thought that I'll look really stupid because I saw two girls doing it and they looked even more ridiculous than the three blind mice.
The view from one of the viewing areas. If we went there later the Sakura should be in full bloom below.
Simple but super tasty kitsune udon. I read in guides Osaka is famous for their udon but I thought this bowl of udon owned all the udon I ate in Osaka. Must have been in the simplicity of the taste.
Don't know what flower this was but the tree looked really pretty with all the cream coloured bulbs and dark grey branches.
Ninenzaka, super crowded and very tourist oriented.
A lot of people stopped to take a photo of this sakura tree, a shidarezakura I think? With all the drooping branches.
The tree was full of wire but still managed to look very pretty.
Totoro!! =D The shop was selling goods from studio ghibli. I almost went crazy, but in the end i managed to control myself and brought only one figurine.
Outside a 1050 yen shop. I remember the shop assistant heard us speaking mandarin and said "Quan bu yi ling wu ling!" in the most ridiculous accent. Didn't buy anything though.
I panicked when I saw this geisha and snapped this photo. There were lots of "fake" geishas walking around, people who go into a makeover studio for a fee to be dressed up as a geisha or maiko to walk around in kyoto with makeup and furisode, but I think they just wasted their money because you can see the seam of the wig, their makeup done badly and walked like they were being spun about for a hundred times. I remember MK saying "er xing" when we saw one "fake" one.
Big big guan yin ma statue!
Thanks to Liying and her courage I managed to take this photo! I wished I could take a closer shot but I felt really shy and took this ugly photo. -_- We saw quite a few in Kyoto, probably on their way to entertain guests. I don't know whether they are geisha or maiko, because although they wear white collars their head ornaments are typical of the maiko. A geisha usually wears a kimono of more subdued patterns and less hair ornaments. A maiko wear patterned collars. Maybe they are lower ranked geisha? I don't know.
Yasaka-jinja, a temple surrounding Gion, it was pretty quiet though. Well anyway we walked and walked and just went to Maruyama park without even noticing! Maruyama park is one of the most popular places in Kyoto when it comes to the annual cherry blossom viewing, and I can see why.
Firs time I saw a real life Saint Bernard and its SUPER BIG but super fluffy and super gentle. I had to stop myself form yelling Beethoven!!!!
The sakuras trees there looked really, really pretty, with the late afternoon sunshine warming up the remaining cold from winter, ahhhh shiok. But a lot of people sia.
They always look so pretty in clusters.
And so pretty on their branches.
I think its impossible to take an ugly photo of the sakura.
Ahhh nice warm sunshine~ I never appreciated the sun this much in Singapore. During my stay in Japan whenever there was sunshine I would just stand there in the sunlight.
This boy was pretty good for a performer. He was funny in a self-degrading way and managed to engage his audience.
He juggled burning torches while balancing on this rolling plank. I remembered he said he made a living on performing, but I think it should be enough because the audience were generous. I gave him 500 yen as well, a amount I'd never give to local buskers here. Its true that people are more generous when they are traveling. But seriously the buskers here should do something else other than singing and hula hooping if they want to earn some serious money.
Gion. I thought it'll be a very traditional place, but I was wrong! Hahaha. It was quite late and we were quite tired already, or else I'd so go to the shirakawa river.
I think I must have been crazy when I decided on climbing ten floors to the top of Kyoto station with all the cold and the strong winds. I seriously regretted after climbing up halfway.
On the 10th floor of Kyoto station there's this Ramen koji and there are quite a few stalls all selling ramen. You purchase tickets from vending machines. This is my shio ramen, which is quite good! The different shops are from different regions of Japan.
The sky garden on top of Kyoto station. I think I could have turned into a statue here from the cold. Vapour came out of my mouth and I was shivering like mad. I wanted to look at Kyoto's skyline at night but my fear for height stopped me.
Liying looks like a penguin, and yiwen looks like an eskimo.
Ahhh sanctuary of warmth, an eleven story Isetan. We went there when it was closing soon I guess, and it was super weird to see staffs from every floor bowing ninety degrees when we passed down each escalator. Its a little awkward really.
Slack and talk cock back in our comfortable ryokan~
More photos coming up~!