Thursday, August 23, 2007

FLEETING IMAGES OF KYOTO

We were on a real "Temple-palooza" one the day we saw Heian-Jingu, Nanzen-Ji and Shoren-In. We had also intended to check out Chion-In, which is the largest temple in Japan and also famous for a giant 74-ton bell that requires 17 monks to use it to ring in the New Year. Unfortunately, we go there about and hour and half before it closed and by the time we climbed the massive hill to reach it and finished with snack time and potty breaks, they were already ushering us out. Oh well, you win some and you lose some. We still got some nice pics though:

Compared to Tokyo, Kyoto definitely has more of an old-world, traditional feel to it. To me, it was almost too quiet and laid back, but I guess to others that's part of its appeal. I did enjoy strolling through city and seeing all of these temples, but there were too many to take in during a limited time.

It is said that Kyoto is the best place to see an authentic Geisha around town, but we didn't catch a glimpse of any. Still, there were plenty of women (and a few men) strolling the streets in traditional Japanese kimonos and I appreciated this brush with the country's ancient culture.

One of the worst jobs in Kyoto has to be "rickshaw driver." I would feel too guilty hiring one of these guys to drag me through the streets in the heat that we were experiencing (although I guess it beats walking).

As traditional as it is, Kyoto has many modern elements including their own version of a space needle:

Kyoto Station is where all the trains and buses come in and also home to a mall and many restaurants. Its design is ultra-modern and was somewhat controversial when it opened ten years ago (I thought it was pretty cool).

One final note: when traveling with kids (especially three of them), it's good to go to somewhere that has enough places that they'll want to eat at. Kyoto was pretty limited in this area. We dined at a few average Italian places at the Station and it was only on the last day that I noticed they had a McDonalds, Subway and Starbucks (not that we really wanted to eat there, but still). The only other familiar food-related face we saw around town was this smartly-dressed gentleman (who was kind enough to let us use his toilet).

All-in-all, Kyoto was a nice place to visit. At first it almost seemed anti-climatic, but now that I've had a chance to let the experience soak in for a few weeks I'm glad we found our way there.


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