Japan's third beauty spot

Date: Wednesday 30^th December 2015

Weather: Due to travelling through quite a mountainous area, I had everything from bright sunshine to a few flakes of snow. For the main part of the day, I had a lot of clouds with a few breaks where the sun, and a beautiful blue sky, could shine through.

MP3 track of the day: Driving in my car - Madness

I got up earlier than I had on any previous day of my holiday so far; I got ready and left my accommodation at 7am. This, I thought, gave me enough time to go to my local McDonald's for breakfast before back-tracking, past my B+B, towards my car hire place. I planned to get there for 8am sharp.

As I approached my local McDonald’s, I noticed that it was quite dark inside. On further inspection I read that they didn't open until 8am. I back-tracked past my B+B and, as luck would have it, there was another McDonald’s – which was open - on my way to my car rental place.

A sausage muffin later and I was raring to go. Once again I couldn't have been more ready; I'd eaten breakfast plus I'd bought plenty of snacks. The only problem was, that I had arrived at my car hire place at 7:50am. I therefore walked past and onto a bridge where I took a couple of 'okay' photos before proceeding back to the hire shop.

The manager of 'Times Rental' looked the part however, he didn't seem to act it. I understood that the shop opened at 8am however I would have expected that, given that I'd said that I would arrive at 8am sharp, for all of my paperwork to be ready and waiting to be signed; just like at the Times Rental shop in Kobe. It wasn't. The guy lifted piles of paper here, there and everywhere. He went into the back office and finally found the paperwork to match my car. Next he had trouble using his own PC as he tried to input my details. The final act of 'professionalism' came when I got in my car, turned the ignition key and noticed that the fuel gauge wasn't showing full. A lot of apologises later, and the lady at the garage quickly took my hire car to be properly filled whereas I, negotiated another thirty minutes of free hire for the inconvenience. The car itself was lovely; it was the 'Nissan Dayz' - the car I used to drive when I taught English in Miyako. I was therefore able to set my driving position up quickly and, given all of the problems, I actually left the garage earlier than I'd left the garage in Kobe.

Being early in the morning, I found it quite easy to leave the city. I headed east along 'route 1' before transferring onto the '161' which allowed me to quickly, and effectively, head north as fast as possible leaving the busy south behind. Not only was the '161' a very effective road for getting me out of the south's traffic, it also followed the 'Biwa' lake's western coastline. At 670.4 km2, this is Japan's largest freshwater lake. The road I'd chosen was a free highway therefore, with a speed limit of 50 miles an hour it was probably not the best choice of road to be do a little 'car sightseeing' from however, the road was elevated and so actually, I got some excellent views of the water and it's coastline. Due to the weather being clear, you could just make out the lake's other mountainous coast. With nothing on the road I slowed a little and enjoyed the view.

Once I'd travelled all the way up the lakes coastline, I then took the '303' west, through some spectacular mountainous scenery where I caught my first glimpses of snow. I had wondered if the guy at 'Times Garage' had indeed fitted the car with winter types however, it was too late to worry about that now and, fortunately, there wasn't any snow on the road; just on the sides of the surrounding mountains. Once through I continued west along the '27' for quite a while. Last night, as I was planning my route, I had thought that this part of the journey would have been quite spectacular. I was heading west with Kansai's northern coastline filling my view however, due to all of the small settlements along this part of my route, I couldn't concentrate as much as I would have liked on sightseeing as I had to contemplate with other road users, traffic lights and pedestrians. On quite a few occasions, 'views' had been removed in favour of 'functionality' however, when a decent view with a car park came around, I stopped the car to take a few photos.

Finally I came to the point where the '27' left Kansai's northern coastline and headed back south. I therefore changed onto the '175' for a short while before once again heading north on the '178'. This road – once through a few more coastal towns - would lead me to my actual destination for the day; Amanohashidate Bay. By my reckoning, it was only another twenty or so minutes up the road. The time was already past 11 O'clock therefore, I couldn't wait to get there.

Amanohashidate is one of Japan's three most beautiful spots; or so the Japanese say. The other two are Miya-jima (close to Hiroshima … which I have been to) and Matsushima (which is a twenty minute train ride from my apartment). It should have been no surprise that the traffic increased as I got closer. Moving at the same speed as an asthmatic ant with heavy shopping, I watched time tick by. It was getting close to 1pm; the halfway point in my car hire. To get here, I'd gone a convoluted way in order to see Biwa lake - and Kansai's northern coast - however, I still felt as though I would have to leave by 2pm at the latest to get my car back on time. With that in mind I decided that, instead of searching for the cheapest parking, I would park wherever I could find a space as time was currently more important that money. Having said that, some places were charging £8.00 for parking! Luckily, as those parking spots were the closest to the 'wonder', they were all full. A little further down the road and an old woman signalled for me to pull into her empty piece of land. She was charging £4.00 for the day however, I wasn't sure if it was entirely legal. She had no signs of any sort; just an unused piece of land with lines drawn on to make car parking spaces. The Japanese family – who had entered the car park at the same time as I – were also a little apprehensive; for all we knew, they weren't even her car parking spaces to loan. I didn't have time to argue. I paid the amount and quickly read my guidebook.

Amanohashidate is considered one of Japan's three most beautiful spots because it has a natural ribbon of beautiful beaches – and beaches are hard to find along the main islands coastline - which act as a 'bridge' between two parts of the mainland making a small natural harbour. At either end my guidebook stated that there were shrines to see and, if you have time, a cable car which will whisk you halfway up a mountain to another shrine with good views of the area. I'd spent the last two days seeing shrines and, tomorrow I shall be heading to Nara to see even more shrines. I therefore closed my guidebook content on missing all shrines within this area and just walking up and down this natural ribbon of beach. At 2.6km long, walking up and down is probably all I had time for.

As I had to go back the way I'd come, I decided to walk along the eastern beaches, close to the water, returning through a line of trees on the opposite side. The sand, though difficult to maintain any decent speed on, was beautiful and white. It was met by some beautiful clear waters which lapped rhythmically along the coast. Once I'd walked a good kilometre from my starting point the crowds had pretty much disappeared and I was on my own to enjoy this small piece of paradise on Japan's northern coast. As for a view, mountains could be seen in the distance but, unfortunately, unsightly small towns were in between the mountains and the waterfront. Some of the buildings, which I could see across the water, were very unsightly and this is why, though Amanohashidate is very pretty – and white sand is a rarity here -I still wouldn't class it, or Matsushima, as the best beauty spots in Japan. If the Japanese government asked me where the three most beautiful places are in Japan, I'd have to say that Miya-jima (near Hiroshima), Taketomi-jima (Okinawa) and Shrietoko-go (Hokkaido) would have been my three choices. This was nice, just spoilt by the development. Once I'd finished my beach walk I proceeded back through the long line of trees which covered the western bank of this ribbon of land. Though not as impressive, the trees did make for a nice change of scenery however, I had to dodge the many tourists who had hired bikes for the day – good thing about sand; no bikes!

Once I'd finished my walk, the time was approaching 1:30pm. With nothing else taking my fancy I headed back to the car glad that I had ventured out this far however, slightly disappointed that this place had been given the recognition that so many other beautiful spots in Japan deserved. I got back in my car and left my 'dodgy car park' (which was now full). I made it back onto the '178' however, instead of going back the way I'd come, I decided to take the '176' south. This would connect to the '9' which would, pretty much, lead me all the way to the rental garage and make a nice loop of a trip. I once again headed back into Kansai's mountainous centre, through small towns and villages with their crop fields bare. At one point, I travelled along a bit of road I'd travelled along four days ago and I identified where I'd turned to head back to Kobe. Unlike my journey up, the '176' and '9' where quite heavy in terms of traffic. For most of the journey it was fine, as we all seemed to be going the same speed however, for quite a while, I stuck behind an old 'IDIOT' going 27 miles an hour. A queue of vehicles longer than the grand canyon formed up behind me and him. After only four minutes of travelling behind him did I – and everyone else stuck – unanimously agree that he should be the first candidate for my 'relocation of old peoples act'. After what seemed like an 'age', he slowly turned off allowing me to complete my journey in some sort of piece.

As I approached Kyoto, the traffic behaved in a different way as to that heading to Kobe. When I returned to Kobe, I travelled almost freely until I entered almost grid-lock. Once I'd moved only 'inches at a time' for thirty minutes or so, I was free to continue my journey unhindered. Here I never found myself in grid-lock though, I kept a steady speed of just less than 30 miles an hour for what seemed like ages. It was during this period that I tried to decide what I preferred; prolonged pain or a short period of utter agony. Neither would be my first choice.

After filling up my car with fuel I returned it in the same fashion as I'd found it. I did not see the man in the suit; this time a lady took my keys and said all was fine. I then walked back to my B+B where I dropped off my bag before going back to the tempura restaurant I'd visited two nights ago. Whilst tucking into my meal I wondered if I'd done the right thing in regards to these two car hires. On the one hand, if I'd instead hired the car on two constitutive days – and booked one less night in Kyoto and one more in Kansai's northern parts – then I would have been able to spend more time sightseeing and less time worrying about what time I had to return my car. On the other hand though, having these 'driving days' has been a nice break. I've had one day of travel, followed by two days of walking around a city followed by one day of car travel repeated. It is really nice to break up the temple viewing days with a day doing something totally different.

Once back at my B+B I looked through my photos and checked my emails. I would say that today has been a great success; I'd seen the lake, Kansai's northern coast and Amanohashidate … plus driven around a bit more. I had achieved all I'd wanted to, even if the day had been a bit of a rush. Tomorrow I will get up a little later than normal, have breakfast and then checkout of my B+B. Tomorrow I would be heading to a city which I haven't visited before … tomorrow I will be in Nara!

Toodle Pip!

The old versus the young

Date: Tuesday 29^th December 2015

Weather: Once again it was quite cold in Kyoto however, the sun was shining brightly.

MP3 track of the day: A small measure of peace – The last Samurai

Today, I did indeed need my alarm to wake me up. As soon as it started ringing I was up like a flash to turn it off. I then paused a second; it sounded as though I hadn't woken anyone else up in the process. Still, not that I cared; last night the couple to my left were talking until 11pm.

I got ready and left my accommodation at around 7:30am. Fortunately, my first temple of the day stood facing me and - though handy it is still quite crazy - it opened at 6:20am. I was therefore able to wander inside the temple grounds getting a few 'people free' photos with all of the other 'early bird' photographers. The temple was called 'Higashi-Hongan-ji' and it looked just like a lot of other temples I have already seen. I made a brief stop at it's brother – 'Nishi-Hongan-ji' - and took a couple of photos there too. Out of the two, Nishi was the prettiest only because Higashi was under intense reconstruction. After this I stopped in another McDonald's to eat breakfast.

It was still pretty early therefore, instead of getting the train to my third stop, I decided to walk. Looking at my map, the temple was less than a half an hour walk away and I quite fancied a stroll within a part of the city I haven't seen before. In order to get there though, I had to cross one man-made structure, and one natural one. First up were Kyoto's many train lines. Fortunately a road bridge – with a tiny pedestrian footpath on either side – took me safely across all of them. Next up, another road bridge took me across the 'Kamo' river. Once again a minuscule footpath was presented to me and so I kept walking, with my coat almost scratching the bridge's dirty wall. Of course, due to the time of day, pedestrian traffic was light. A cyclist came up behind me however, before trying to get around me, she dismounted and walked past me as I hugged the wall. Two minutes later and, in the distance, I could see something closing in fast. It wasn't a pedestrian … or a cyclist. My eyes widened. It was my nemesis, the thing a hate the most; an old lady riding a mobility scooter. I'm not sure what speed she was doing but, a part from going faster than the cars on the road, her speed was totally inappropriate for the walkway we found ourselves on. Naturally, I am sure she was expecting me to jump out of the way as she was old. I did not. With only feet between us she hadn't slowed and neither had she moved up as close to the bridge wall as she could. By a cats whisker we missed each other however, my camera bag hit her mobility scooter. I proceeded a little further onwards and took a few photos to make sure that all was fine. She had also stopped and was beckoning me to come back. I did not. I knew it wasn't to check if I was okay. Instead she reversed – and hit the bridge's wall in the process … karma - and started to have a go at me for hitting her mobility scooter. I lost it. I told her exactly what I thought of her mobility scooter, the speed in which she was travelling and 'her' in a mix of English and Japanese. Fortunately I remembered the word for 'idiot' in Japanese and I used it as if I may never have a valid reason to use it again.

I pretended that incident hadn't upset me … but it had. I don't like confrontation, and especially when I was being accused of 'being in the wrong' when I wasn't (Just to note that I wasn't in the right either; I could have moved out of the way and waited, but then again so could she). It was as I was walking to my third temple for the day that I once again thought of my brilliant 'workhouse' idea for children. Wouldn't it be great if every nation in the world had an island for old people where they had to go as soon as they had become a misery to society. It could be like a drivers licence; they would get points for every incident - like the one I'd just encountered - and then, after say three incidents, off they went to the island of their countries choice (Isle of White for us I think).

I'd just put the finishing touches to the 'Rehousing of senior citizens act' when I came across my first proper site for the day. Tofuku-ji is another Buddhist temple complex located within the south-east of Kyoto. It comprises of many different areas with many different buildings however, only two areas were open to the public and both needed a separate ticket. Though I paid to enter both areas I was a little reluctant to do so. I do not believe that, just because these are places of 'god', that everyone should be allowed to wander around for free however, I also do not believe that places like this should be allowed to fleece you of all of your money. I felt somewhat aggrieved in having to pay for two tickets to what was essentially the same temple however, just like every other tourist, I did so for fear of missing out on something excellent.

The first ticket allowed me to enter some gardens with a long wooden bridge. Though these were very pleasant indeed, being winter most of the trees were without flower therefore, I could not help thinking that it would be nicer in the spring or autumn. The pathways crossed a small stream and meandered through a flowerless garden until I reached another temple area. This had a rock / moss garden and was very pretty. The garden was split into two, with the moss on the right of a walkway leading to the main temple, and the rock garden on the left. Water was flowing through and over the moss. On the other side the gravel around the rocks had been raked in to perfect 'meter squared' squares making it look a little like a patchwork quilt. It looked so undisturbed that I was very eager to disturb it by stepping on it.

The other ticket took me to another rock garden. By now I have paid £2.40, on three separate occasions, to see what is effectively raked gravel around some stones though, I have to say, that I liked this garden more than the others. The reason for this was because of the art of 'borrowed scenery'. As you looked at the garden, in the background were the sides and roofs of the other temples making this garden feel very Japanese. I topped up on the 'zen' I'd lost in my confrontation with 'mobility grandma' before I left the site. In order to really get back on track with my 'wing and wang', I also very kindly got out of the way for an old person who wanted to take a photograph. After he'd finished I retraced my steps and went back to what I was looking at before. Did I get a thank you … no! Off to the Isle of White with you sir!

With Tofuku-ji's raked gravel seen I was ready to leave. I headed towards the train station to continue my journey south towards the next temple - Fushimi-Inari. On my way to the train station I saw a sign which read that the train station was only an eight minute walk away to the north. I was just about to walk off when I saw another sign which said that the Fushimi-Inari shrine was only a fifteen minute walk to the south. After doing some quick maths I realised that it would, probably, be quicker to just walk there instead of faffing around with trains. Though my feet were a little disheartened, they understood the logic and led me onwards.

Though my guidebooks review of Fushimi-Inari put it in an exciting light, it was hidden in between all of Kyoto's other sites and temples. What's more, the temple isn't actually mentioned on the guidebook's map of Kyoto therefore, I was expecting something quite small and unheard of. What I got was a bustling festival scene with every approach to the temple site manned by shops and stalls getting ready for the new year. The actual temple of Fushimi-Inari was nice; with it's beautiful bright red beams and white walls however, this wasn't Fushimi's main attraction. This was once again a temple site however, the other temples lay all over a mountain which the temple backed onto. Along the four kilometres of connecting path, were over 10,000 tori gates. Yes! 10,000 or so red Japanese tori gates. Each one has been donated by some Japanese business as an offering to gain luck in business. In some places, the tori are so close together that they almost formed a tunnel; blocking out all sunlight. To call this place beautiful would be an understatement (I urge you to click onto my Flickr account and checkout the photos). 10,000 traditional bright red gates located on a mountain Buddhist temple site is something to marvel at. Due to being the holidays – and the fact that there was no admission charge – the crowds were enormous to began with however, as the climb up the mountain got more tiresome, the crowds started to thin. With so many people, getting shots of the tori without anyone present was going to be impossible. I had however, tried to get out of the way of anyone wishing to take a photo and do you know what; a lot of the young people I moved out of the way for said 'thank you'. A Japanese couple said thank you to me and, when I replied in Japanese, we actually had a short conversation. They were a lovely couple and were on their holidays. The guy's sister is currently studying in England however, where, he can't remember. It was during this conversation that I tried to slip my lens cap back onto my camera. I wasn't really paying attention. As I was talking the lens cap popped off my camera and rolled away into the undergrowth never to be seen again. The Japanese couple seemed concerned however, knowing that a new one would only cost a couple of pounds, I was more annoyed with the fact that I had, unintentionally, littered within this beautiful place. Also, I have had that lens cap since I purchased my camera; it has been with me around the world therefore I was a little sad. I therefore decided to think of it as an 'offering', for the protection of all photographers all over the world. I then got on with photographing the rest of the mountain.

When the climb got tough, I said goodbye to the Japanese couple and continued onwards. The Japanese red tori were still all around me however, they were more spread out. I couldn't believe just how far up this path went and I was very grateful that I had decided to come to Kyoto in the winter and not during the summer. By now, a few beautiful views of the city of Kyoto opened up below me. Each time the city came into view, I would take a few photos before going back into the trees to follow the path forever upwards. Finally I made it to the top where I wasted no time at all in coming back down. I choose a different route down which, sadly, meant that I missed most of the tori I had already seen however, it also meant that I missed the crowds too. Once at the bottom I was exhausted; I grabbed a drink and proceeded to the train station where I could have a sit down as I made my way to my final attraction for the day – Byodo-in. The time was around 12:30pm. Fushimi-Inari had taken about two hours which I hadn't expected. I hoped that Byodo-in wouldn't take more than three hours to visit.

Byodo-in is actually not in Kyoto at all; it is located within the small town of Uji. I was under the impression that Uji would be about a thirty minute train ride from Kyoto however, after fifteen minutes or so, I found myself alighting at Uji's train station. Once again the fare had been incredibly cheap and so I happily walked towards the UNESCO World Heritage site – which the Kyoto area seems to be full of.

Byodo-in was actually a villa for the emperor's chief adviser, Fujiwara Michinaga. It was his son who worked on the grounds of the villa, making it the envy of the Japanese court. Today the grounds are gone however, that doesn't really spoil the villa itself. Byodo-in is a beautiful symmetrical building surrounded by a moat of water. It's symmetry, red beams and white walls make it perfect for photography. Within a very short space of time I had taken over thirty photos always looking for the best angle and for when there weren't too many people in front of it. Just like at Kinkaku-ji, a path led you around the villa presenting every possible angle. The sun was behaving, allowing for some great photos. To the left of the villa was a small museum dedicated to the villa and, in particular, it's Phoenix Hall. This villa is now dedicated to Buddhism and it's central hall – called the Phoenix Hall – houses a very large Buddha statue with small Buddha's encircling it on clouds floating up to paradise. I knew all this not by viewing the hall itself, but by entering the modern - and well laid out - museum which was in the mountain to the side of the villa and was included within my entry ticket. Once again, to get into the Phoenix Hall itself I would have to purchase a separate ticket which I was reluctant to do. With most of the items on show only labelled in Japanese, I didn't spend too long looking at any particular exhibition in the museum, a part from the two original Phoenix statues which would have been on the top of the main hall's roof. I circled the glass case in which they now found themselves in, looking as the craftsmanship. It was very good.

With it only being 2:30pm I was stunned that I'd actually completed my last site for the day. Five temples seen in seven hours … not bad. Due to having time free I contemplated purchasing the extra ticket to go into the Phoenix Hall itself however, all tickets had been sold for the next three viewings. The next available viewing time was in ninety minutes. I declined therefore I took one last look at the temple before I left and headed back to the train station. Once outside the train station, I re-read my guidebook's entry for 'Uji' to make sure that there wasn't anything else of interest. There wasn't. I therefore boarded the 2:55pm 'rapid' service back to Kyoto.

Whilst on the train, I gazed out into the world and thought. Today had been fantastic! Fushimi and Byodo-in had been unbelievably beautiful and the weather had been stunning. I wish I'd done this mornings rock gardens last of all, as they would have made a lovely relaxing end to the day. Never mind.

Once back in Kyoto, I went to my usual multi-storey department store for lunch / tea, which had a camera shop on the ground floor. I purchased a new lens cap before heading to the 6^th floor and into a 'tonkatsu' restaurant. The meal was lovely however, it didn't fill me up as much as the tempura did yesterday therefore, once outside, I went to the local convenience store to buy a dessert.

So now I am back in my hotel room wondering where on earth the last week has gone. Yes, that's right … I've been travelling for a week. Even though it's gone very quickly, I have managed to fit a lot in. Tonight I shall pack and plan my route for tomorrow as I will be hiring another car. Tomorrow I will hit Kansai's northern coastline. Directly above Kyoto is Amanohashidate; one of the three most beautiful sites in Japan (I have been to the other two). Once I've visited Amanohashidate I shall continue driving around a lake called 'Biwa-ko' and back to Kyoto. Just like in Kobe, I hope to hand my car back sooner than my allotted time.

Toodle Pip!

A city of gold and bamboo

Date: Monday 28^th December 2015

Weather: Once again it was quite cold in Kyoto however, the sun was shining brightly.

MP3 track of the day: Gold - Spandau Ballet

 

The walls in my B+B are so thin that I spent most of the night worrying that my alarm would wake everyone else up as well as me. I need not have worried as I managed to wake up, by myself, ten minutes before my alarm was due to explode. I quickly got ready and went in search of the nearest underground station. Due to last nights problems with finding somewhere to eat, I got off Kyoto's pre-historic underground system one stop before the one I actually wanted. The stop I wanted was at the north end of Kyoto's palace grounds, which I hadn't visited before. The stop I was at was located at the south of Kyoto's palace grounds and I had visited this area before therefore, I knew that there was a McDonald's where I could get some breakfast. After that I walked up to the north end of Kyoto's palace before turning west. Today I would be visiting the North-western parts of Kyoto which included two famous temples – and lots of others, a museum and then a suburb called Arashiyama. My plan was simple; have a wonder around the temples within Kyoto's north-western area before taking the train to Arashiyama. First however, a good forty minute walk was needed to actually get to my starting point; Daitoku-ji.

More like a complex of temples rather than a single temple, Daitoku-ji is one of Kyoto's largest 'Zen' foundations … or so my guidebook told me. There was a beautiful stone pathway which zig-zagged through smaller temple sites, each one separated from the others with it's own stone wall. Throughout the site, trees grew offering an air of tranquillity. A sign stated that you could walk through the complex for free however, if you wanted to visit any of the temples then you had to pay at the individual temple gates. This was great for me as I knew that I had other temples which I wanted to see today therefore, I sneaked my way along the path and, using my 'foreigner height', I took a peak at some of the temple's gardens.

As you can imagine, this didn't take long. I was on the road again and still heading west. I had been on my feet for almost two hours now and they were starting to hurt. I don't think it was the distance as much as the surface of the ground. Tar-mac can be torture for your feet. Finally I hobbled into view of my first real attraction of the day; Kinkaku-ji. 'Kin' means gold therefore, this was the famous golden temple I'd missed during my last visit to Kyoto. From the photos I'd seen of it, it basically consisted of a small two-storey golden temple stuck in the middle of some beautiful gardens. I had never seen a golden temple before so I eagerly paid the entrance fee and went in.

I would have to agree with my guidebook when it states that “even the crowds can't diminish the impact of seeing the temple for the first time”. When I saw the top of the temple through the trees for the first time, I raced around the corner and saw the full thing surrounded by a beautiful garden and a well kept pond. A security guard told me that I had to go a certain way and, this was a good thing as he led me to the perfect spot to photograph the temple to death. Sadly, hundreds of other tourists had been guided this way too, therefore I had to fight for every inch of space against ugly people who insisted on having their 'far from perfect' faces in the middle of what could have been a perfectly good photo. I continued to photograph the golden temple from many different angles capturing it and different parts of it's surrounding gardens. You couldn't go in the temple; instead the route all visitors had to follow snaked around three sides of the temple offering many different photo opportunities. The gardens too were wonderful and again I was starting to feel quite relaxed. Once I'd finished taking my photos, I left the temple the way I'd come in and continued west.

Next up was supposed to be the 'Kyoto Museum of World Peace' or, to give it a title which actually means something, 'A history museum dedicated to Japan's militarisation'. According to my guidebook, this was one of very few museums in Japan which 'held no punches' when it came to telling the Japanese people the truth about their countries military past. It also had a model describing what would have happened if the US had decided to drop an atomic bomb on the city instead of Nagasaki. Sadly though, this museum was also closed for the winter. I therefore walked to the closest convenience store where I bought a drink and a cake before sitting down and consuming both. By now my feet were really hurting; all they had to do was to get me to one more temple before I would take a twenty minute train ride to Arashiyama. Begrudgingly my feet responded to my pleas; once I'd promised them a rest whilst on the train. I therefore got up, put my rubbish in the bin and proceeded onto my next temple; Ryoan-ji.

Ryoan-ji has become Japan's most famous temple due to it's rock garden. Fifteen rocks are strategically positioned within a sea of raked gravel so that all rocks cannot be seen from the same viewing point; or so my guidebook told me. I'm not sure if things have been moved or, if moving your head is cheating or if my elevated position makes my forthcoming comment void but, from a couple of locations I could see all fifteen rocks. Once all rocks had been identified I moved on, hoping that this twenty-four meter rock garden wasn't all that there was to see.

It was. I'm not sure if yet more attractions are closed for the holidays however, the map of this temple's grounds was huge and yet, a lot of it seemed to be 'out of bounds'. I therefore returned to the rock garden wanting to make more use of my 500 Yen entry ticket by getting 'Zen'ed up'.

I sat looking at the rocks for a couple of minutes not sure if my 'zen level' had reached maximum or not. Other people seemed to be enjoying the view whereas I, just felt bored. I mean; how entertaining can fifteen rocks actually be? With other things to see I finally left the temple happy that I'd seen something a lot of Japanese people talk about, but unhappy as it wasn't really that good. Sure the grounds had been peaceful with their tree-lined paths and use of water however, all of that I've seen before; it was the rock garden I, and everyone else, had come to see. Once out of the gate I proceeded directly south towards the closest train station. Now, I am use to the Japanese Shinkasen trains, their hybrid electrical trains and their modern daily commuter trains however, I wasn't quite prepared for the 1930's on rails … coming down the track looking at me. The best way I can describe the train – if that's what it was – which I was about to board would be like a San Francisco tram, just on rails. Once inside I checked out the lighting, which seemed to match lights used on the Titanic and seats which were probably installed by one of the retired chaps using the train today. This may sound as though I wasn't that impressed however, on the contrary, the train shone with character and, along with it's very strange route - which almost went through peoples back gardens - it was an experience in itself … oh and very cheap.

Once in Arashiyama I sat down to read my guidebooks entry on the place. Apart from another 400 temples – which I didn't really fancy going around – the best thing to do was to just wander around and get lost within Arashiyama's maze of small streets. Arashiyama was originally a place for the emperor and local lords to leave the worries of the city behind and to relax, write poetry or to go on a hunt. These days, the place is full with day trippers, looking for a bit of peace from the 'hustle and bustle' of Kyoto – which obviously didn't happen as the place was as crowded as a shop having a 'closing down sale'. With no real aim, I put my guidebook away and looked at the local tourist map. It showed a 'bamboo walk', which sounded like fun, and so off I went.

My dad likes bamboo. Why, I'm not too sure however, he would have loved this place. A wide'ish' path left the town of Arashiyama and headed 'up hill' to a forest made out of the tallest bamboo trees I have ever seen. It would appear that bamboo trees grow quite close together therefore, most of the daylight was blocked out by the sheer number of them. I took a lot of photos trying to focus either on the close proximity of the trees, or where their leaves met the sky. I don't know much about bamboo however, I was very surprised at how smooth and strong a bamboo tree is. I really enjoyed walking along this pathway, stopping whenever I felt like it and trying to bring across the area, in which I found myself in, through my photos.

Once out, I decided to circle back into town via a new route. This meant that I occasionally got lost down some of Arashiyama's famous small streets however, no matter how small the street was, there was still a group of tourists speaking all languages under the sun. Once I'd made my way back into town I realised just how tired I was. I had been on my feet for over seven hours. Due to my early departure the time was only 2:30pm therefore, there was still plenty of daylight left however, I didn't really have the will to carry on. I therefore decided to have a look in all of the souvenir shops for potential ideas for when I do my 'big shop' at the end of my holiday. I also took a couple of photos of Arashiyama's bridge which crosses the Katsura-gawa river before I decided to call it a day and head back to the train station. The 1930's once again arrived on time to take me back to Kyoto's city centre. Wishing to head back to my B+B, I stayed on the train as we past the stop I'd boarded from earlier, and rode the train all the way to the last stop.

Once back in Kyoto my day wasn't over just yet. The last stop still left me a good thirty minute walk away from the train station and my B+B. What's more, I hadn't eaten since breakfast therefore I was famished. Once back at the station I went into the electrical shop I visited yesterday and went up to the sixth floor. I walked past the steak restaurant and into a very nice looking tempura restaurant. The great thing about my choice of eating times – breakfast at 8am, followed by snacks until 4/5pm where I would have lunch / dinner – was that, not only did I not need to queue for a table, I could choose any table within the restaurant. For a long part of my meal, I was the only paying customer. Being very hungry, I ordered one of the largest tempura 'meal sets' which came with six pieces of tempura sitting on top of a bowl of rice. I also got a miso soup thrown in and I ordered a glass of Pepsi. All-in-all I was a very happy chappy as tempura is my favourite Japanese food – and this was delicious; I watched the guy cook it in front of me – and I had lots of room to relax.

I had consumed so much that I left dessert and waddled out of the shop. I was planning on buying a small dessert from my B+B's local convenience store however, once there, I just waddled past and into my accommodation. The way I was feeling, I wasn't sure if I could eat anything else for the rest of this year.

So tonight I shall rest my feet and probably watch some TV. Once again I could go out and watch the new Star Wars film however, after all of the walking I've done to day, I need to give my feet a rest in preparation for tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, I'll be heading south to visit two more temples.

Toodle Pip!

Sightseeing in two cities in one day

Date: Sunday 27^th December 2015

Weather: A beautiful sunny day in Kobe. It was still sunny in Kyoto when I got there however, it was a lot colder.

MP3 track of the day: Day Trippin – Red Hot Chilli Peppers

I awoke at around 7:30am and proceeded to the hotel's dinning area for my final breakfast. As normal the croissants had run out, and were only re-filled once I'd finished eating. I packed my bags and left them at the hotels reception stating that I would be back around midday to pick them up. I then proceeded to my first attraction of the day. The time was 9am.

The skies were once again blue and so I decided that I would indeed take the gondola up the mountains to get some stunning views of the city of Kobe and to see a herb garden (actually, I couldn't give two 'hoots' about the herb garden; it was the view I wanted to see). As my hotel was close to the waterfront, I had to walk through the heart of Kobe, and out again, always heading in the direction of the nearest mountain. Though Kobe is a large city, due to it's geography it is long and thin meaning that it didn't take me long to reach the foot of the mountains. I arrived at the start of the gondola where two old Japanese women were contemplating purchasing a 'gondola and lunch' combination ticket. For me the choice was simple; I would just buy a return gondola ticket as I wouldn't be up there long enough for lunch.

The gondola was tiny; in my minds eye, I had a vision of a large cable car taking me all the way up to the top but no, it was a tiny cabin only big enough for four-to-six people. Once inside a safety notice asked me not to dangle out of the window, rock the gondola or stand up. I wasn't really planning on doing any of these. The view was very good as we climbed almost vertically. The sun was rising with me therefore, it blinded some angles of view. I proceeded to look outside eager to get to the top so that I could start taking photos. I though I'd reached the top when we pulled into the next station however, I was told that this was just a midway station and that I should proceed onwards. Once I'd left this midway station, I realised that it did serve a purpose. The herb garden was spread along the mountainside between the final station above me, and the midway station which I'd just travelled through. I was therefore supposed to get off the gondola at the final station, leisurely walk down through the herb garden until I made it back to the midway station, where I would take the gondola back to the base station. Clever that!

Once at the top, I arrived in some unopened Japanese tourist trap. There were few buildings around me however, all of which were designed like some 1800's German village – with a castle – and all buildings had a shop or two inside. Like I said, fortunately none were open as I was pretty much the first person up. I therefore ignored 'Deutsch land' and went to look over the wall at the view. The gondola had pulled up within a small valley along the mountain top. I could therefore see out directly in front of me however, both sides were concealed. I therefore made my way into the herb garden in search of a better view below.

Now, anyone with a passion for herbs would, I'm sure, enjoy this place. With it's windy paths, well labelled herbs and it's relaxed atmosphere, a person could spend two to three hours up here just getting away from city life. I didn't have two to three hours. Like a bulldozer I charged through the herb gardens taking the shortest path to where I thought were the best views of the city below. I was starting to think that this had been a mistake as most of the viewing spots were 'okay'. This was until I'd reached the 'green houses' which, at the back, had a very nice viewing spot down onto the city. The greenhouses themselves weren't too bad either; they housed some very exotic plants and a nice bit of art representing 'motherly love' … I think.

Back on the trail I cut my way through the last parts of the herb garden until I was back at the midway station. The herb gardens had been designed to look 'European' which, though it begged me to ask the question 'why', I realised that it was for the Japanese palette. I got back on the gondola and proceeded back down, taking in the view at every opportunity because, in all honestly, it was on the gondola where I got the best angles.

Once down, I by-passed the 'open mouthed staff' (they probably couldn't believe that I was already finished) and headed to my final attraction within Kobe. Even though I'd blitzed my way through the herb garden, I was still running behind schedule. What made it worse was that my final attraction was located close to the sea therefore, I had to cut through the city once again. My guidebook is celebrating it's fifth birthday this year therefore, though most of the attractions listed were where my guidebook said they should be, I have now come accustom to find that the prices for said attractions might be a little more expensive than advertised. When I got to Kobe's museum that was indeed the case again however, the price listed in my guidebook was three times lower than what was shown on the 'customer board' outside of the museum. This made me wince. After much pondering, the reason the price was so high was because the museum was currently running a special 'world exhibition'. There were mummies sarcophagus' from Egypt, parts from China and many other things from many other countries. The thing I wanted to see was the museum's collection of Namban; old Japanese art showing the 'southern barbarians' (i.e. … us). With these not being on show, the high price tag and my dislike of seeing items out of context, I decided to knock the museum on the head. On the down side this left two things within the Kobe area which I still had to do another time (the museum and going across the bridge I saw yesterday) however, the good thing was that I was now back on track, time-wise. I picked up my bags from my hotel and proceeded to Kobe's train station where I only had to wait eight minutes for my train to come in. It was a 'semi-rapid' train meaning that it would only make limited stops on it's way to Kyoto. I should therefore arrive within the hour.

Whilst on the train, I had planned to read my guidebook about the city I was about to visit - to remind myself what it was that I'd planned - however, for some reason I didn't really feel up to it. Instead I looked out of the window and watched the world go by. A few rows in front of me was an American couple with two young children; one of which had probably just learnt how to make coherent sentences because neither father or mother could shut him up. The other was unable to speak and so, to get his fair share of attention, he would scream every once in a while. I listened and I watched as the two parents fought an ongoing battle to keep their children entertained, to make sure that they still had all of their possessions and to make sure that they hadn't missed their stop. Every time the train stopped the child who could speak would ask if this was their stop … four or five times! Now, I suppose I will have children at some point in the future – maybe another fifteen years away??? - and from what I was witnessing, I wondered why anyone even bothered travelling with children. In a family car, fine; but catching trains, planes and buses … surely it isn't worth it. I continued to watch as any energy the parents did have, got sapped out of them by either their children or the fact that neither of them could read any of the information available to them. It was at this point that I realised that the need for workhouses had returned. Wouldn't it be great if there was somewhere you could drop your children off while you – the parents - had a well deserved rest. Being a workhouse, the children stationed there could actually be doing work in order to pay for their parents holiday as they enjoy it. A sort of 'Pay as you go'. I could just see it; “...Johnny Farthington. I've just received a credit card statement from your parents in the Caribbean; looks as though they 'splashed out' on another expensive dinner tonight therefore, you'll be working until 9pm again...”

Finally I arrived in Kyoto at around 1pm. Instead of staying in a hotel, I would be staying in a sort of 'B+B' (without the breakfast) within a shared wash room. This didn't bother me in the slightest as the place was cheap (£20 per night) and – as I soon discovered – it was only a fifteen minute walk from Kyoto's main station. Once I had arrived, I was greeted by a lovely old lady who didn't speak a word of English. She showed me around this 'maze of a B+B' and, at 1pm, allowed me to put my bags in my room. I was then shown where the washing facilities were. All was fine. I returned to my room where I didn't unpack; I just retrieved my guidebook and cameras and locked my door. I then left my accommodation twenty minutes after I'd arrived.

With the time being almost 1:30pm, I had time for one attraction before things started to close. I therefore walked to Nijo-jo, the Shogun's palace which – due to a huge miscalculation on my part – was a lot further from my hotel that I had originally thought. It took me almost an hour to get there, which wasn't helped by the fact that I got stopped at every pedestrian crossing I wanted to cross. Built at the time of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1603-1616), this lavish fortress was said to be designed to protect the city of Kyoto however, due to it's size and extravagance, it is pretty obvious that it was also to show the emperor, and his subjects, where the power in Japan truly lied. 200 years later however, it was in this same palace that the period of the Shogun's ended when the Emperor Meji received the last Tokugawa Shogun's resignation. As this was a site which I hadn't visited before, I paid the 400 Yen asking price and went through the gate. For the first time, my five year old guidebook had 'over-stated' the cost of an attraction.

It didn't take long to discover why today's price was less than the price five years ago. The grounds of the Shogun's palace, though lacking in colour, had been neatly kept with flowing paths, well pruned trees and beautiful grassy mounds encircled by small bamboo fences. The reason the price had been lowered was because it was only the grounds which were open. The inside of the Shogun's palace was now closed for the winter and would reopen on January 5^th. When buying my ticket, I had no idea that this was the case though, looking back now, I don't think it would have changed my mind as I usually prefer the outside of buildings to what can be found in the inside. I therefore followed the instructed path taking photos of the buildings within the walls of this palace. I enjoyed wandering through though, after a while things began to repeat themselves and so I quickened my pace. Before leaving, I enquired at the office as to a small house called Nijo-jin'ya. Out of the two (Nijo-jo and Nijo-jin'ya) it was the Nijo-jin'ya which I really wanted to see. It is basically an old house filled with false walls, nightingale floors and hidden paths to protect the lords whom would stay there before paying homage to the Shogun. Sadly - and I already knew this – but, because the house is privately owned I have to pre-book a visit and I need a Japanese translator. That being said, I still wanted to find out where the place was because there might be a possibility, in the future, that I might return. After a short walk I found the old house and made a 'rememberball'.

The sun was falling fast and, though most attractions were now shut, I still had some information I wanted to gather. I walked from the Shogun's palace to where the Emperor use to live and proceed north though the park which surrounded his old 'gaffe'. I walked back to the place where, five years ago, I had taken a photo of a girl in a Kimono (I wonder what she is doing now) and found myself outside the Emperor's old palace. To be able to go into the palace you have to pre-book and request permission – just like Nijo-jin'ya – however, I wondered if it was closed for the winter holidays just like the Shogun's palace. I found a palace guard and it was confirmed that, though this is one of the very few times the Japanese find themselves with a few days holiday, this too wouldn't reopen until most people were back at work. Is it just me or does anyone else find that kind of logic ridiculous.

With darkness approaching I left the palace ground bewildered and a little bit annoyed. Due to all of the travelling I'd missed lunch. I noticed that their was a nice looking restaurant on the opposite side from the Emperor's palace grounds however, I decided to walk further towards my B+B before tucking into a meal. I mean; I found myself on Kyoto's main road with an hours walk ahead of me; I would surely find loads of restaurants.

Five Starbucks, three McDonalds and a billion other cafés. The Japanese have managed to evolve to require only coffee and burgers for nourishment. I found nothing which took my fancy. I even walked past my B+B and I ended up back at the train station. This wasn't want I wanted because I knew that any restaurant near here would be busy and sure enough, when I went into the underground shopping centre, most restaurants had a queue of people waiting. My stomach urged me to stay however I declined. I dragged my weary feet and went to find somewhere new. Giving up on trying to find signs for restaurants on the streets, I went into the nearest big shop I could find – which was an electrical shop – where I discovered that, on the 6^th floor, restaurants selling all sorts of food were open for business. I had a quick look at all of the restaurants, finally choosing a steak house where I ordered a steak – funny that – with a side of onion rings. The meat was delicious and the portion size was just about right. It was a little expensive therefore, after eating I popped into a local convenience store to buy a dessert which was cheaper, and probably more yummy, that what was being offered in the restaurant I'd just visited.

Once back at my B+B, a younger woman was at the front desk. She was pretty nice, chatty, spoke English extremely well and has a x-university friend who lives within my home town in the UK (she has even been over to the UK to visit). We chatted for a little while before I headed up to my room to get ready for an early night.

So when I visited Kyoto the last time, I looked around the centre and the east side of the city. Tomorrow my plan is to do the western suburbs along with a place called Arashiyama. Tonight however, I shall watch a bit of TV, read through my guidebook, make a plan for tomorrow and try and have a early night.

It's good to be back in Kyoto!

Merry Christmas

Toodle Pip!

The most beautiful woman on earth … at that point in time.

Sunday 21^st November 2010

MP3 track of the day: Way of the Sword - The Last Samurai

Weather: Good; a beautiful day which was pretty warm for November.

Yet again I was awoken to the sound of a child – the same one as yesterday – crying. Why do people have children? All they do is eat, sleep and cry; they are completely helpless and stop you, and others, enjoying themselves. I think that all children under the age of six, no, twenty should have to live on a small island off the mainland (of whatever country the were born in). The same should also happen when you turn seventy.

Anyway I was up and out by 9:00am; I thanked the staff of the Ryokan for a wonderful experience and I went, with all my stuff, to catch bus 206 towards Kyoto train station. As I was sitting on the bus two little boys, sat next to me; they kept staring at the white plastic bag I was holding. It took me a while to realized that my Japanese 'transformerish' model was in the bag and that they were trying to read the box label. I took the box out of the bag and showed them; one of the lads quickly got out his hand-held games console and put a disk into the back. I peered over his shoulder as he flicked through all these 'transformer' photos, some of which I recognized, until he stopped at the photo of the model I had. I asked him if it was good to which he replied yes … as if he was going to say anything else.

The two lads got off the bus two stops after our conversation, the trip then became very uneventful until I reached Kyoto Station. Once at the station I went in search of a locker; first of all I tried the bus station and there weren't any free. I then crossed over to the train station and again there weren't any free there either, added to this the place was heaving with Japanese tourists. It was becoming more and more difficult to remain calm as becoming angry and stressed is a big disrespectful sign in Japan. I made my way to the tourist information office and asked there for any luggage storage; I was told that there was a baggage overflow area around the corner. I thanked them and hurried along only to meet a 'full' sign … whats going on?

To not waste anymore time I headed to the post office, with all my stuff, (and at this point I was pretty sweaty) and I posted off a parcel home. After this I'd pretty much decided that I would have to return to my hostel – forty minutes bus ride away – to drop my bags off and try to do something with what remains of the day. However before I did this I went to the bus station ticket office to see if they had any priority lockers for passengers taking bus services … no. However the lady mentioned another over spill luggage area, within the basement of the train station, and so I thanked her and hurried there just in time to join a huge queue before a Japanese official closed the line (due to no more room). Few, I could now relax … I did feel sorry for all those people who hadn't found any where to put their baggage as it's a real pain. I don't blame Kyoto Station, they have hundreds of lockers and quite a few huge over spill luggage areas; it's just the sheer volume of people here this weekend. I didn't understand why people, coming for the weekend, would be using station lockers as surely they are either here just for the day (so they would only have day luggage) or they would have booked accommodation.

As I waited in the queue to store my luggage I chatted to four old Japanese ladies who, I think, took a fancy to me. They gave me some Japanese sweets which, in return, I offer them some British sweets (hey mum, you can get Werthers Originals over here too!). They said that I was very handsome to which I said thank you; they then said that if a Japanese boy was handsome he would normally be gay to which I, very quickly, made sure they knew which team I batted for.

It was 1pm by the time I had put my stuff in a locker … it had taken me three hours to get my luggage stored and the day was running out rapidly. I therefore headed to my intended target, this market that only happens one day per month. I entered the market to find thousands of Japanese crammed between lines of stalls; I decided that I would try to get lunch there to save time, however there wasn't that much to choose from. I bought a 'corn on the cob', dipped in some lovely sauce, and eat that. Afterwards I looked around the stalls, however nothing took my fancy. Before leaving I went to the men's toilet. Just like in every country in the world, the men's toilet had no queue where as the ladies queue was going around the block. Whilst washing my hands I noticed a few ladies popping into the men's toilets to use the cubicals; no other man battered and eye lid and I must have looked quite stunned, as I walked out of the toilet, as I was greeted by a line of laughing women.

Due to having no lunch, I went for a quick bite at McDonalds before taking a long, long (a lot longer than it looked on the map) walk up to the old Imperial Palace. I walked around the grounds only for a short while because the day was drawing in. Whilst walking in the park I noticed this Japanese lady, in a Kimono, who looked extremely beautiful. Her dress was a beautiful cream color with additional colors to match the leaves behind her; at that moment I thought that she was the most beautiful woman on the earth and I quickly flicked through my guidebook to find the Japanese for 'would you like my mobile number?'. Failing that I instead plucked up the courage and asked her if I could take her photo, which she was glad to have taken. I thanked her and she smiled and waved me goodbye. Getting that photo had made the day for me; I wanted to get a photo of a lady in a Kimono and what a stunner. Again the old and the new mix of Japan was evident in women's fashion; the old kimono makes women look rather stunning and the new short skirts with leather boots has a similar affect … I like Japanese women.

The sun was setting and the street lights were coming on; it was now 5pm and so I headed quickly to another temple however it was shut. I walked around the outside of the temple before making my way to the train station, stopping at a convenience store to pick up tea.

It had been a strange day I thought; I hadn't done a lot but that photo of the Kimono made the whole day for me … a personal goal ticked off. Once back at the bus station I picked up my luggage and just sat and waited for five hours, people watching. Whilst in the bus station waiting room this European girl came up to me and asked if I spoke both English and Japanese (I wish, as I could have given that woman in the Kimono my email address). Basically her, and four friends, had turned up in Kyoto, on the busiest weekend in the year, without pre-booking somewhere to stay. She wanted to see if I had a mobile that she could borrow so she could call some places as she didn't have a phone or a computer. I thought how stupid and, as my phone isn't working in Japan, I said that I couldn't help.

I'm now waiting for my night bus, I hope there isn't anyone on there that snores!

Toodle Pip!

Beautiful Kyoto

Saturday 20^th November 2010

MP3 track of the day: Red Warrior - The Last Samurai

Weather: really good; excellent blue skies with fluffy clouds

Unfortunately I didn't awake to the sound of birds singing ... I awoke to the sound of that annoying child next door, yet again, crying (and it wasn't even a proper cry, it was one of those half-hearted cries seeking attention). I rolled over, picked up my watch, and found out that the time was 7am. I decided to try to go back to sleep as the family next door was up (about six of them) and there was only one bathroom. I eventually got up around 8am when I herd the family tuck into breakfast. Surprisingly I awoke quite refreshed considering that I had just spent the night on the floor. I had noticed that the Japanese guy, who I shared my dorm with, had set out his bed in a different way to me last night and so I quickly altered my setup to match. This didn't actually matter because, in a Ryokan, you pack your bedding away each night (though I did make a careful mental note for tonight).

Before leaving for the day I asked the person on the reception which bus would be best to get to the east side of the city and where could I purchase a karate suite from. The first question was answered without problem, the second came after a few minutes of pondering; Kyoto has a huge market on the 21^st of every month and, he said, I might be able to find a suit there. As the market is setup near the bus station this works well for my plans for tomorrow.

The bus ride to the east side of the city was uneventful but long, taking around an hour. I arrived in the area of 'Gion' and immediately I saw a beautiful temple across the road. I purchased some breakfast and then went into Yaska-jinja, this orange temple complex in front of me. Just like in Hiroshima there were quite a few young girls in kimonos; however there were also quite a few ladies in kimonos as well, and so I took a few secret photos. The complex was beautiful, with big orange outer-gates guarding a center temple. I stayed around for a bit and it was quite lucky that did because, out of one of the temples, stepped a beautiful Japanese woman all dressed in white with a man on her right and a lady holding her hand, with a ring on it, on the other side. I reckon that a wedding was talking place and so I took a few photos of her before leaving.

I headed south towards Kiyomizu-dera, a 'must see' temple in Kyoto, my guidebook said. The temple was located at the top of a hill; to get there I had to walk up this narrow street with shops on either side and hundreds, upon hundreds of people … it took quite a while. Whilst at my Ryokan I had found out that November is Kyoto's busy period due to the fact that the autumn colors were out on the leaves making all the temples that much prettier. Added to that the market tomorrow, and it's a national holiday on Monday, meant that Kyoto was packed. Once at the temple I was just about to take a photo of the front gate when I herd the familiar “... excuse me, do you speak English?...” statement coming from a youngish sounding voice behind me. I turned around in anticipation of being asked my views about the unfair allocation of Frisbee's in the world, however this time it was different. The two university students (a boy and girl) in front of me asked if they could take me on a free (at least I think they said free) guided tour of the temple. As I was going to go in anyway I thought why not, and it was free.

I paid 300 yen to actually enter the temple; they then told me all about the different areas of the temple. As we were walking from attraction to attraction I found out that this was a project for the guys to practice their English. All went well with the tour, the temple was okay but it was really enhanced by the autumn colors of the leaves. After about thirty minutes we had gone around the temple grounds and I said goodbye to my guides as they went to look for someone else to show around. I was surprised that they hadn't asked me any questions at the end like 'how was the tour?', 'how was my level of English?', 'Where you able to understand me?' etc etc. However none of that mattered as right then, in front of me, there was a huge group of young women in Kimonos in front of the temple gate. As I delved into my bag to find my camera I herd the dreaded words yet again “... excuse me, do you speak English?...”. I was just about to explain to them that I had already had a guided tour when they produced a questionnaire about what I thought about Japan. I answered their questions but missed the photo opportunity.

I decided to leave sharpish, back down the street of a million people. I had a look at the shops as I walked down the hill and I purchased an old fashioned Japanese fan for 3,000 yen (£23). Once back on the main street I headed back north towards the first temple that I had visited. I had another brief look around to see that the wedding was still in full flow and that there were still quite a few ladies in kimonos.

I didn't stay long as it was dinner time and so I went along the main high street to find something to eat. Whilst hunting around I found another model shop selling Japanese 'transformer' model kits and so, as fate had decided, I purchased one. This was quite good as I had now a pair of chopsticks and a fan to represent old Japan and a pornographic comic book and a transformer model to represent new Japan. As everything is so different here you could buy tones of stuff, however I have now decided that this is my souvenir shopping over … apart from a karate suite and some old style Japanese embroidery artwork … what?

After lunch I headed to Heian-jingu, another temple. Yet again this one was in Orange, however it had a huuuggge gate in front of it and the complex was altogether more grand with a huge forecourt. Again I took a few secret photos of ladies in kimonos before paying 600 yen (£4.50) to visit the Japanese gardens. The amount asked to visit the gardens was quite a lot, however I wanted to see a Japanese garden before I left Japan and time was running out.

I wasn't impressed with the gardens until I visited the last one; a beautiful old Japanese style bridge lay over a small lake in the middle of the garden. In the water were carefully placed rocks and little islands with bonsai trees. Yet again the autumn colors of the tress, with their red and yellow leaves, made the whole place magical, I took a few photos before leaving.

It was getting late in the afternoon and the sun was beginning to set; I had little time to see the last attraction that I wanted to finish the today with, the Ginkaku-ji temple. To get there I had to follow the 'philosopher's path' which the respected philosopher, Nishida Kitarso (1870-1945) took his constitutional strolls. I could see why Nishida choose this path; with a flowing stream to one side, trees over hanging in all directions - with their fiery colored leaves - and the hills in the background it was a very pleasant stroll.

Once at the temple I once again found myself battling the crowds up a narrow street with shops on either side. Once at the temple there was a huge queue which I joined; this meant two things. Firstly I had to pay to enter and secondly it should be good. I handed over 500 yen and entered; I was a little surprised to find out that the star attraction weren't the temples themselves but this huge garden where I had to follow a set path, along with thousands of Japanese, to have a look around. Two gardens in one day; again I felt as if I'd been done like a kipper as, if I had known, I wouldn't have bothered with the first gardens and I would have just come here as a) these were more impressive and 2) they were cheaper. Just as before the autumn colors in the leaves turned the gardens into a magical wonderland of color and peace. To soon I found myself carried out of the gardens, down the hill and past the shops, by the huge crowds.

As I walked back down the philosopher's path the street lights were starting to come on, the day was turning cold and this was my queue to catch the bus. The bus was packed and I thought I wouldn't be able to get off at my stop due to the sheer volume of people. Luckily I had a Japanese guy who wanted to get off at the same stop as I and he made a path for me to follow, through the crowded bus. I bought some tea before retiring to my Ryokan. The evening was spent eating said tea and packing my souvenirs, which luckily all fit into the box the model I purchased came in, ready for finding a post office tomorrow.

Well the plan for tomorrow is to find a post office, check out of here and put my stuff in a locker at the train station, have a look around the market for a karate suit, have a look around the city center before catching my night bus to Tokyo. As I will be out all day tomorrow there will probably be no blog until I reach Toyko … which will be my final day in Japan ... sob. I so want to extend my stay here however without a rail pass (which I can only apply for whilst I'm out of the country) there really isn't any point in staying (purchasing individual rail journeys is a no, no as they are sooo expensive), however if I don't like South East Asia then I'm getting a flight straight back to the land of the rising sun.

Sayonara!