We had a fun, fun, fun weekend in Kyoto, Japan! I haven’t been there in (ahem) 17 years, and Nick’s never been. I was surprised at how quickly my language skills came back, except that sometimes some Mandarin would cross my mind and I’d thank someone in Chinese instead.
It’s cherry blossom season in Japan – truly a beautiful sight. We flew into Osaka (Tokyo flights were all full and we heard the Osaka/Kyoto was a really nice area from friends). We spent a day there and walked around a bit, hitting Osaka Castle and the gorgeous cherry trees in full bloom all around.
These are plots that the Japanese have laid out marking their spots under the cherry trees. They come and picnic there. We even saw several drinking at 10am!
We hit the smallest bar ever for an Asahi beer while waiting for our dinner. Literally the place couldn’t have been bigger than 4ftx8ft. It was great. Then, we decided experience one of the things that many Japanese do every night – play Pachinko. I remember when I studied in Japan walking past the Pachinko parlors hearing the sound of the metal beads pouring out of the machines and loud music, but I was never brave enough to go inside. Now was our chance. We found the Dragon Fortune and headed inside. We put 1000 yen (about US$10) in the machine and had to have the gaming “helper” come show us how to do it. I’m pretty sure that his help would’ve been prohibited in Vegas. Anyway, I tried my hand at it for a while, not knowing what I was doing except turning a knob. Then Nick played and struck gold. He was mesmorized by the flashing lights, deafening music and the Japanese video saying “Got Fever”. Three crates of metal balls later, our “helper” was motioning Nick to stop. I thought maybe he wanted to immediately check him into Gambler’s Anonymous, but instead, it was closing time (yay! That’s the first time we’ve closed a place down in a while). Nick had earned more than 4,000 balls, which translated to about US$40. Most people traded in their balls for cigarettes, but we opted for a box of lemon drops and cash.
Nick with his Asahi. Notice that his knees are almost as tall as the bar.
Nick in the zone.
Happening downtown Osaka.On Saturday, we headed to Kyoto by train via Nara, one of Japan’s first capitals. A friend recommended Nara, and we’re so glad that we made the impromptu stop there. From what we saw of the city, it was lovely. There was a series of parks with temples and shrines connected by trails and deer who roam freely, asking for treats.
Beware of the deer! We didn’t see any violence among the deer.
Kyoto was lovely as well. We wish we had more time there. The Golden Pavillion was pretty spectacular and it was nice to be surrounded by some green for a change. We’re in a sea of concrete and metal in Shanghai.
The Golden Temple in Kyoto, Japan
In Osaka, we saw a Dairy Queen that had been converted into a pet store. Glad it wasn’t vice versa.
Glad to know this building had a map of refuge, if needed.
The Fushimi Inari Shrine was incredibly cool. The trailways were lined by thousands of torii gates (the traditional Japanese gate that is used at Shinto shrines. It was dark while we were there and they light up the gates so that you can walk through.
We had a great time on our weekend in Kyoto, Japan, and the Japanese people were very warm and friendly. We were sad to go, and I had to change my brain back to Chinese mode. It was easy to do because before we even left for the airport, there were some Chinese cutting in line for the airport bus.
