Today was interesting, but ultimately I didn’t do it right. I know that there is a lot in Kyoto I want to see and of course, it’s on the outside perimeter of the city itself. Kyoto almost seems designed as a city made for bicycle riding, that’s why almost everyone here is on a bike, it just makes sense. I planned on renting a bike today to cover some ground but after looking at a map, I decided against it. Instead, I told myself I can slow walk it, like I did the day earlier when I went to the Kiyomizu-dera Temple and I can see the sites along the way. My walking goal was Arashiyama to the East to see Nakanoshima Park and Bamboo Path near the Tenryuji Temple.
Before I start my journey, I realize I need food. I stop by a restaurant right near my hotel and I get this…
Alright so this meal is the standard miso up top with the white sticky rice next to it. Next was some raw tofu, definitely not bad, I did put a little shoyu on it just to kick it up a notch. The main meal on the left was tempura shrimp and fried chicken in a ground beef and egg mixture. Japan really doesn’t like well done eggs so I'm getting used to eating runny eggs, something I usually hate and still prefer well done.
With breakfast/lunch being done, it’s back to my walking journey. I looked this up on Google Maps the previous day and it said 5.6 km, about 3.5 miles. I know that seems long but I figured a slow walk would get me there in a little over an hour and I can see the sites along the way. My first mistake was realizing that Google was showing the 5.6 as miles and not km, so it was 2 miles more than I had originally thought. My second mistake was thinking there would be sites to see along the way. Starting from central Kyoto and going West, you get a lot of beauty and shopping districts and the Gion District. Going East, you are in the suburbs, and not nice ones, these seemed to be the financially hurt suburbs.
First thing on this walk was walking by the Nijo Temple I tried seeing last night. It’s day time so now I should be able to get a picture of it and I did just that. Here is the gates that are now open…
As I continued walking, again, not realizing how far my destination was for the time being, I realized this is an area I probably shouldn’t be in. It’s not nice to look at, seems very poor, and not somewhere a tourist typically goes to. This is why there is a big gap between pictures for today, there just wasn’t anything to take a picture of along the way. If you want to visualize it, picture that part of town that isn’t filled with crime or violence but you can just tell that it’s not the part of the town that the visitors bureau would put in a brochure.
One thing I did want to show was a Pachinko Parlor. Even in poor areas these things are huge. Japan loves their Pachinko. Also, I'm not sure why but if you walk inside of a Pachinko parlor, it’s about as loud as standing directly behind a jet engine. I don’t know how much power it takes to run these places but it sure sounds like a lot.
I finally get to Nakanoshima Park and I couldn’t be happier to be here. I really felt like this walk would never end after about 2 hours of non-stop walking, fast walking, not the casual walk I expected. This park was great and there was an entire town built around it like most temples and shrines have in Kyoto. These temples and shrines bring in the tourists which brings in a need to have restaurants and shops in the outlying areas.
Near every temple and shrine, there are rickshaws which are very popular. I was under the assumption that rickshaws were inhumane and as I go to Wikipedia to look this up, I find that I am completely wrong and I'm happy I am. Here are some pictures of the rickshaws near Arashiyama.
Oh, and I'm pretty sure that the guys who operate these rickshaws use it as a way to meet women because they flirt like crazy with the women and ignore the men completely. Pretty good racket if you’re looking to meet women I guess.
After seeing the Togetsukyo Bridge along the Hozu River, I decide to make my way to the bamboo path that I am super excited about. This was one of the things I was most looking forward to in Kyoto. In America we have the Redwood Forest, in Japan they have entire forests made of bamboo. On the way there I stop and see the Tenryuji Temple, a leading Zen temple in Japan. I also see a random collection of Buddha statues. Also, note in the first picture the kid running, he was running for about 6 city blocks. His guardian was never far behind but this kid definitely slept well tonight (much like I will after all of this walking!).
After all of this walking (about another 1/2 a miles worth of walking), I finally get to the bamboo path. This area was awe-inspiring. This was definitely one of those “only in Japan” opportunities that I am so happy I did. This made it worth the 6 mile walk and made the pain in my legs a distant memory. I couldn’t get enough of the majesty that was this bamboo forest. Enjoy the pictures, I don’t know if they can fully portray the beauty of this area, hopefully it does. I really hope the vastness of the forest comes across.
I know that seems like a lot of pictures of the bamboo grove but trust me, there is a lot more on my hard drive I chose not to show. I couldn’t get enough of this area.
After taking some more random turns (I always tend to go in the opposite direction from where the crowd is going, gets me into some interesting places and situations), I stumble on what appears to be someone's house with an amazing mirror pond right outside of the property. I was almost completely alone and stayed here for about 30 mins just relaxing and enjoying the tranquility.
Further down my walk was this tiny store. There was nothing in any direction for about 1/2 a mile besides the bamboo path and that random house in the previous picture. This reminded me of those random fruit stands on the middle of a country road in America. You are amazed they ever have customers but you’re happy they stay open because it’s usually quite a sight to see. The people who own this place must be very calm and happy people and for that I admire them.
As you walk this area, you see train tracks. This is because it’s not only part of the Japan Rail System but in this area, it’s also the Sagano Romantic Train. It is a train that only goes for about 30 mins from one end to another but it’s through forest, mountains, and along the Hozu River. The train is open air and very romantic and beautiful. Obviously I didn’t do this, I do a lot alone on these trips but something with the word romantic in the title is probably something I'll avoid. I hear romantic and being alone and thing about Pee Wee Herman.
The Gion District isn’t the only area with geishas. These are the local geishas of Arashiyama. Oh, and after doing some research, these are the highest ranking geishas, you can tell from the red collars on their kimonos. They were enjoying the bamboo forest like the rest of us!
After all of this time, it dawned on me that I am now about 6 miles from my hotel and unlike America, I can’t simply call a taxi to take me home. I’m in a really quiet residential area where taxi’s didn’t venture and with no Internet on my phone, I couldn’t look up a taxi company anyways. I knew I had to get home and I realized I would finally give in and find a train station. About 1/2 mile later I find a Japan Rail station. It was a life saver. I felt no guilt taking the escalator up instead of the stairs, my legs needed a break. This train goes directly to the Kyoto Station which is only about 1 mile from my hotel or I could take a connecting subway to get even closer to my hotel.
I get to Kyoto Station and I have no idea why this was happening but a group of young men were tossing their friend up in the air. Of course I had to take a picture…
They actually repeated this with several people. I decided to walk away in fear that they would see me looking and want to throw me up next. In hindsight, I kinda with I stuck around, that would’ve been a great story to tell!
Here are some pictures of the Kyoto Station and the Kyoto Tower.
This is where I think my brain stops working because what I should do is go back to my hotel and take a bath or a nap or something to make my body feel better from walking so much, instead I decide to continue on because there is something very VERY important that is just south of the Kyoto Station.
I’m not sure who makes the map I have been using all day but they make things seem so much closer than they truly are. What looks like a few blocks away actually is a full mile away. It’s also a full mile through a really really ugly part of Kyoto. Here is a picture of it from the overpass…
Ok, so let’s do a quick recap of my life. I’ve been to several of my Mecca's/Graceland's, I've been to Safeco Field, I've been to the Nintendo of America building, I've now been to the Park Hyatt in Tokyo. If I'm not almost done with my checklist of all the places I need to go to, I'm getting very close and now we can check off another one, a major one…
Even though this now makes my walking for the day somewhere in the 8-9 mile range, my body was completely fine, rejuvenated from seeing this building. I slowly walked the perimeter in hopes that someone would see me and offer me a job, this didn’t happen unfortunately.
After somehow pulling myself away from the Nintendo office building, I was overwhelmed yet again with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. I keep doing everything I say I want to on this trip, at this rate I'll be coming home with no regrets! On the way to the closest subway station (yes, me and walking are done for the day, I give up), I found this…
It was a plant growing out of an old green tea bottle. Something about it just brought this sense of peace over me. I don’t know why, maybe about how even in an industrial/business part of town, there can still be simplicity and beauty. Quite the wonderful contrast.
Like I said, even though I walked to Nintendo instead of taking a train that is near their office (because the map made Nintendo seem closer than it was), I decided to take a subway back to my hotel. My legs were done for the day. The Kyoto subways have padded seats, they are even softer than my hotel bed, this was needed very much by this point. Sitting down was a novelty.
I get off the train and need to get above ground and my tidbit to everyone who wants to visit Japan is this. They are not very fond of escalators, especially in subways. You will have to deal with stairs, some are small, others are insane like this one…
After this long day of walking, seeing this staircase that I HAD to take made me laugh. I happily did the walk upstairs knowing that I was a stones throw from my hotel and getting to take my sneakers off.
I am also starving, after the insane walk today, the last meal I had was breakfast/lunch and that was several hours earlier. I decide to get a quick snack from 7-11…
The top left is another chicken filled seaweed and rice triangle. The top right is another rice ball with some veggies in it, pickled vegetables if I remember correctly. The bottom one is shrimp with egg and mayonnaise on rice. These were great snacks and much needed at this point.
I realize at this point I need a nap. It’s 8pm and I set my alarm for 9:30pm just to recharge myself. I fall asleep with no problem, it’s the getting up that wasn’t easy. I look at the clock and realize no way, I'm in for the night now. I need to get a full night of sleep and that’s what I'm doing. Tomorrow I am renting a bike because I won’t be stupid like I was today. Fool me once… I have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow but with wheels it should be much easier and me and bikes are friends, we get along just fine.
So that’s it for tonight, the night didn’t have to end as early as it did but for the sake of my body and knowing tomorrow will be a jam packed day, I think it’s ok to call it early a little bit. If I actually rented a bike today instead of being dumb and walking, it would've been a much much different day, but alas, I am dumb. That’s all for tonight from me, tomorrow will be a lot of pictures and I'll be seeing a LOT of stuff.
Oh, also, one last thing, I don’t see any garbage on the streets of Japan but at the same time it’s almost impossible to find a garbage can. What’s that about?
Oyasuminasai.
- DAK
Before I start my journey, I realize I need food. I stop by a restaurant right near my hotel and I get this…
Alright so this meal is the standard miso up top with the white sticky rice next to it. Next was some raw tofu, definitely not bad, I did put a little shoyu on it just to kick it up a notch. The main meal on the left was tempura shrimp and fried chicken in a ground beef and egg mixture. Japan really doesn’t like well done eggs so I'm getting used to eating runny eggs, something I usually hate and still prefer well done.
With breakfast/lunch being done, it’s back to my walking journey. I looked this up on Google Maps the previous day and it said 5.6 km, about 3.5 miles. I know that seems long but I figured a slow walk would get me there in a little over an hour and I can see the sites along the way. My first mistake was realizing that Google was showing the 5.6 as miles and not km, so it was 2 miles more than I had originally thought. My second mistake was thinking there would be sites to see along the way. Starting from central Kyoto and going West, you get a lot of beauty and shopping districts and the Gion District. Going East, you are in the suburbs, and not nice ones, these seemed to be the financially hurt suburbs.
Here is a map of the walk I took today. That’s 5.7 miles on a map starting from the left and going to the right along the red line.
First thing on this walk was walking by the Nijo Temple I tried seeing last night. It’s day time so now I should be able to get a picture of it and I did just that. Here is the gates that are now open…
This is a picture of the side of Nijo Castle. You can see the moat around the side and the impenetrable walls that definitely kept people out. There was no getting into here unnoticed.
As I continued walking, again, not realizing how far my destination was for the time being, I realized this is an area I probably shouldn’t be in. It’s not nice to look at, seems very poor, and not somewhere a tourist typically goes to. This is why there is a big gap between pictures for today, there just wasn’t anything to take a picture of along the way. If you want to visualize it, picture that part of town that isn’t filled with crime or violence but you can just tell that it’s not the part of the town that the visitors bureau would put in a brochure.
One thing I did want to show was a Pachinko Parlor. Even in poor areas these things are huge. Japan loves their Pachinko. Also, I'm not sure why but if you walk inside of a Pachinko parlor, it’s about as loud as standing directly behind a jet engine. I don’t know how much power it takes to run these places but it sure sounds like a lot.
After about mile 3, I was convinced the end of my journey was never happening. I did realize I need hydration because at this rate I felt like I was walking back to Tokyo!
This walk was through very residential areas which is why this park was so nice to see. Kids playing and families hanging out. Nice break from the narrow ugly streets I've been navigating for well over an hour now.
I finally get to Nakanoshima Park and I couldn’t be happier to be here. I really felt like this walk would never end after about 2 hours of non-stop walking, fast walking, not the casual walk I expected. This park was great and there was an entire town built around it like most temples and shrines have in Kyoto. These temples and shrines bring in the tourists which brings in a need to have restaurants and shops in the outlying areas.
Near every temple and shrine, there are rickshaws which are very popular. I was under the assumption that rickshaws were inhumane and as I go to Wikipedia to look this up, I find that I am completely wrong and I'm happy I am. Here are some pictures of the rickshaws near Arashiyama.
Oh, and I'm pretty sure that the guys who operate these rickshaws use it as a way to meet women because they flirt like crazy with the women and ignore the men completely. Pretty good racket if you’re looking to meet women I guess.
After seeing the Togetsukyo Bridge along the Hozu River, I decide to make my way to the bamboo path that I am super excited about. This was one of the things I was most looking forward to in Kyoto. In America we have the Redwood Forest, in Japan they have entire forests made of bamboo. On the way there I stop and see the Tenryuji Temple, a leading Zen temple in Japan. I also see a random collection of Buddha statues. Also, note in the first picture the kid running, he was running for about 6 city blocks. His guardian was never far behind but this kid definitely slept well tonight (much like I will after all of this walking!).
Nearing the entrance of the bamboo path.
A little garden outside the entrance with beautiful trees. The Japanese people, even the youth, have a huge love of taking close up pictures of flowers, it’s quite remarkable that they appreciate things like that.
I notice Japan tucks away their cemetery's and make them very difficult to see and get to.
I loved this, there was a wife and husband selling food in the middle of the forest. It was so serene and just makes you feel completely removed from society in a good way.
I know that seems like a lot of pictures of the bamboo grove but trust me, there is a lot more on my hard drive I chose not to show. I couldn’t get enough of this area.
After taking some more random turns (I always tend to go in the opposite direction from where the crowd is going, gets me into some interesting places and situations), I stumble on what appears to be someone's house with an amazing mirror pond right outside of the property. I was almost completely alone and stayed here for about 30 mins just relaxing and enjoying the tranquility.
Further down my walk was this tiny store. There was nothing in any direction for about 1/2 a mile besides the bamboo path and that random house in the previous picture. This reminded me of those random fruit stands on the middle of a country road in America. You are amazed they ever have customers but you’re happy they stay open because it’s usually quite a sight to see. The people who own this place must be very calm and happy people and for that I admire them.
As you walk this area, you see train tracks. This is because it’s not only part of the Japan Rail System but in this area, it’s also the Sagano Romantic Train. It is a train that only goes for about 30 mins from one end to another but it’s through forest, mountains, and along the Hozu River. The train is open air and very romantic and beautiful. Obviously I didn’t do this, I do a lot alone on these trips but something with the word romantic in the title is probably something I'll avoid. I hear romantic and being alone and thing about Pee Wee Herman.
The Gion District isn’t the only area with geishas. These are the local geishas of Arashiyama. Oh, and after doing some research, these are the highest ranking geishas, you can tell from the red collars on their kimonos. They were enjoying the bamboo forest like the rest of us!
After all of this time, it dawned on me that I am now about 6 miles from my hotel and unlike America, I can’t simply call a taxi to take me home. I’m in a really quiet residential area where taxi’s didn’t venture and with no Internet on my phone, I couldn’t look up a taxi company anyways. I knew I had to get home and I realized I would finally give in and find a train station. About 1/2 mile later I find a Japan Rail station. It was a life saver. I felt no guilt taking the escalator up instead of the stairs, my legs needed a break. This train goes directly to the Kyoto Station which is only about 1 mile from my hotel or I could take a connecting subway to get even closer to my hotel.
I get to Kyoto Station and I have no idea why this was happening but a group of young men were tossing their friend up in the air. Of course I had to take a picture…
They actually repeated this with several people. I decided to walk away in fear that they would see me looking and want to throw me up next. In hindsight, I kinda with I stuck around, that would’ve been a great story to tell!
Here are some pictures of the Kyoto Station and the Kyoto Tower.
This is inside the Kyoto Station. Huge cathedral ceilings, very industrial looking.
Sorry Kyoto, the Tokyo Tower is better than yours!
This is the entrance for the Kyoto Station, if you enlarge this image you can totally see an Astroboy statue on the left. Japan loves their anime/manga!
This is where I think my brain stops working because what I should do is go back to my hotel and take a bath or a nap or something to make my body feel better from walking so much, instead I decide to continue on because there is something very VERY important that is just south of the Kyoto Station.
I’m not sure who makes the map I have been using all day but they make things seem so much closer than they truly are. What looks like a few blocks away actually is a full mile away. It’s also a full mile through a really really ugly part of Kyoto. Here is a picture of it from the overpass…
Hmm, for some reason it looks better in pictures than it did in person.
Ok, so let’s do a quick recap of my life. I’ve been to several of my Mecca's/Graceland's, I've been to Safeco Field, I've been to the Nintendo of America building, I've now been to the Park Hyatt in Tokyo. If I'm not almost done with my checklist of all the places I need to go to, I'm getting very close and now we can check off another one, a major one…
It sits in the background like a god on Mount Olympus.
For those of you unaware why this is so amazing, this is not the Nintendo of America headquarters in Redmond, this is the headquarters for the entire company of Nintendo. This is where Iwata and Miyamoto have offices. Miyamoto created Zelda and Mario and Donkey Kong! I own stock in Nintendo, I should get an office here!
The entrance gate was open, I was close to making a break for the door.
Even though this now makes my walking for the day somewhere in the 8-9 mile range, my body was completely fine, rejuvenated from seeing this building. I slowly walked the perimeter in hopes that someone would see me and offer me a job, this didn’t happen unfortunately.
After somehow pulling myself away from the Nintendo office building, I was overwhelmed yet again with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. I keep doing everything I say I want to on this trip, at this rate I'll be coming home with no regrets! On the way to the closest subway station (yes, me and walking are done for the day, I give up), I found this…
It was a plant growing out of an old green tea bottle. Something about it just brought this sense of peace over me. I don’t know why, maybe about how even in an industrial/business part of town, there can still be simplicity and beauty. Quite the wonderful contrast.
Like I said, even though I walked to Nintendo instead of taking a train that is near their office (because the map made Nintendo seem closer than it was), I decided to take a subway back to my hotel. My legs were done for the day. The Kyoto subways have padded seats, they are even softer than my hotel bed, this was needed very much by this point. Sitting down was a novelty.
I get off the train and need to get above ground and my tidbit to everyone who wants to visit Japan is this. They are not very fond of escalators, especially in subways. You will have to deal with stairs, some are small, others are insane like this one…
After this long day of walking, seeing this staircase that I HAD to take made me laugh. I happily did the walk upstairs knowing that I was a stones throw from my hotel and getting to take my sneakers off.
I am also starving, after the insane walk today, the last meal I had was breakfast/lunch and that was several hours earlier. I decide to get a quick snack from 7-11…
The top left is another chicken filled seaweed and rice triangle. The top right is another rice ball with some veggies in it, pickled vegetables if I remember correctly. The bottom one is shrimp with egg and mayonnaise on rice. These were great snacks and much needed at this point.
I realize at this point I need a nap. It’s 8pm and I set my alarm for 9:30pm just to recharge myself. I fall asleep with no problem, it’s the getting up that wasn’t easy. I look at the clock and realize no way, I'm in for the night now. I need to get a full night of sleep and that’s what I'm doing. Tomorrow I am renting a bike because I won’t be stupid like I was today. Fool me once… I have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow but with wheels it should be much easier and me and bikes are friends, we get along just fine.
So that’s it for tonight, the night didn’t have to end as early as it did but for the sake of my body and knowing tomorrow will be a jam packed day, I think it’s ok to call it early a little bit. If I actually rented a bike today instead of being dumb and walking, it would've been a much much different day, but alas, I am dumb. That’s all for tonight from me, tomorrow will be a lot of pictures and I'll be seeing a LOT of stuff.
Oh, also, one last thing, I don’t see any garbage on the streets of Japan but at the same time it’s almost impossible to find a garbage can. What’s that about?
Oyasuminasai.
- DAK
