The students in our school have a 5 week summer vacation from July 19 until August 25. Its not really what American students would consider a "vacation" because a lot of them still go to private academy classes for 3 or 4 hours a day, 5 or 6 days a week. We taught half-day "summer camp" classes from 9 until 12 for the first 2 weeks and last week of the summer break. The 2 weeks in the middle were for our vacation - so we decided to go to Japan.
We left on Friday, August 1st, after a brief and tearful goodbye to Archness - our favorite kitten who was being adopted while we were away. we took a taxi to the Busan Ferry Terminal. The PanStar Ferry takes about 18 hours to get to Osaka. Here is a picture of the route it takes:
The afternoon we left the weather was gorgeous so we relaxed on the deck for hours and soaked up the sun and cool sea breeze. The ferry stays pretty close to land for almost the entire trip and it makes for a scenic trip. In the morning we passed under the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge - the longest suspension bridge in the world - before arriving in Osaka a little after 10.
We made our way to the Osaka station and hopped on a train to Kyoto. The Kyoto Station is huge, and a lot of fun to explore. Its futuristic design contrasts greatly with the traditional style of architecture found all over Kyoto. Here is a picture:
That afternoon we checked into the Tani house where we would spend the next 4 nights. It was a neat little guest house that has been run by the same woman for 30 years or so. Tucked away on a quiet little street with a nice bamboo garden around it, it was the perfect place to come back to and relax after a day of exploring.
Our first evening in Kyoto, we just walked around the downtown area for a few hours and had some tasty Nepali food for dinner.
The next day was long, exhausting, and extremely gratifying. We woke up early and rented two bikes from the Tani house. Our first stop was Kinkaku-ji (The Golden Pavilion). The name says it all. It was a pavilion. It was Golden. No false promises here. We went through the path twice, and tried to really soak in the beauty of it. It got really crowded with tourists, but nonetheless the place felt very peaceful and serene.
Our next destination for the day was Nijo castle and our bike ride there turned out to be a great activity in itself. The streets of Kyoto don't feel like you might expect a city of 1.5 million people to. Quiet and clean, its great just slowly pedal past all of the houses and little apartment buildings. Along the way we stopped at Kitano temple where they were drying plums:
The aroma was really amazing a we took a little break here for a few minutes.
Nijo Castle isn't one of those castles perched on a hill or towering over the landscape that has you impressed before you even get in. From the outside you are greeted only by and immense wall and moat - but as your work your way through the complex it really dawns on you how amazing it is. We were entertained by the "nightingale" floors that still server their purpose - producing squeaking sounds to warn of intruders.
After a quick lunch, we rode (and often walked) our bikes up the twisting alley of shops known as teapot alley that leads up to Kiyomizu-dera, a temple that offers you a really cool view of Kyoto.
For dinner we had a giant bowl of homemade pork ramen served in a quirky little ramen restaurant. mmm, Ramen. After that we biked back to our hostel along the river. It was nice and cool along the river, where the city has left large sections of park along both sides. By the time we got back, we were exhausted - but very satisfied with our full day.
On Monday, we went to Nara - home to the largest wooden building in the world and many, many deer. We spent most of our day just wandering around Nara-koen, the very large park in Nara where you can find the aforementioned deer and many cool temples and walking paths. The deer are very tame and have no problem letting you pet them:
the only problem is, when you buy food to feed, you'll be swarmed and if you're not careful, completely surrounded.
Its all over.
The deer have little patience and have no qualms about biting the hands that feed them to get attention. A lot of them also know how to bow, and will bow frantically at you in hopes of getting food. Its really funny.
Daibutsu (hall of the Buddha) is the largest wooden building (and in its current state, only 3/4 as bis as it used to be!) It is very impressive indeed. The Buddha inside may not be the biggest Buddha in the world - but he is the biggest Buddha inside of the biggest wooden building in the world... he's pretty big.
One of our other favorite things in Nara were the stone lanterns:
A good part of our next day was spent outside of Kyoto hiking between the two towns of Kurama and Kibune. You take a small train from Kyoto to the little town of Kurama. From there, you hike up and over a mountain with a temple at its top to the even smaller town of Kibune. The scenery was gorgeous and the path was not overflowing with tourists, so we had a really nice time.
Our last full day in Japan was full indeed. We were up early quickly on our way back to Kyoto station. From there it was an hour and a half train ride to Himeji where we visited a truly magnificent castle. It was a scorching hot day, but nonetheless we walked all through the castle and up to its very top. The view from the top is amazing, but more impressive is just to stand at the base of the castle and really appreciate its size.
From Himeji, we went to Osaka and straight to the Osaka Aquarium. Sarah and I are both suckers for aquariums, and I had actually heard about this one on the discovery channel, months before we had even made up our minds to go to Japan. It has the largest tank in the world, which is inhabited by 2 (TWO!!) whale sharks!! Spending a few hours gazing at aquatic animals was the perfect way to end our trip.
The very last exhibit in the aquarium was baby otters. Sarah died and went to aquatic animal heaven at this point.
The ferry ride home was a little bit boring, now that the novelty had worn off. Luckily we both had books to keep us occupied. I had picked up Sebastian Junger's best-seller "The Perfect Storm" at our hostel in Osaka. In hindsight, reading upon men being trapped in capsized fishing boats with ice-cold water rushing into their lungs might not have been the best thing to do on a ferry, but it did pass the time.
We arrived home the next day to our two remaining kittens, and quickly collapsed for some much needed rest.
A great trip!
MORE PHOTOS HERE
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