The Big Five
Trip Start
Apr 12, 2010
1
11
95
Trip End
Apr 12, 2011
Kyoto, Kyōto, Japan
Friday, April 23, 2010
We put Kyoto behind us tomorrow and head pretty much the whole length of the country into the sticks in the north of Tohoku. Getting accommodation up there has been tricky and the weekend in Golden Week might involve going to a Love Hotel, but we`ll see what pans out.
In Kyoto we`ve seen lots of temples, shrines and all that. It was Geisha week, so we went Geisha hunting but weren`t rude enough to take any pictures when we saw them.
Best to look at the photos anyhow...
We`ve had a great stay in the hostel here and extended our stay due to the changing sakura front. Our host, June-san, who used to be a trolley lady on the bullet train has been our saviour....booking things around the country for us, reading kanji, telling us where to eat, drink etc.
I also learnt how to sharpen a japanese knife on a wet stone (blade bevel on one side only) because the one in the hostel was blunt. Only later did I find a lot of sharp knives and a normal wheel sharpener in a drawer!
Weather has been on and off so our trip to Japan`s most impressive castle was basically horrible and they had shut the main keep for a 5 year restoration, only 10 days earlier!
At Inari-Jinja we had to be careful with all the fox spirits as they can possess you if you don`t wear gloves.....they enter through the fingernails.
Comments
cool cool cool!!! Utterly brilliant, am green-tea green with envy. Love the roadworks fancy dress! Got stuck in Richmond Virginia last week due to volcano madness, did mean I got to crash a segway tho. Keep the updates coming!
Yet more good photos. Shame stuff different day in Cornwall - although has turned colder. Given up my house & cat sitting job today. One month at Jaydon then renting a 4 bedroomed house on the cliff in East Looe for three months - have mortgaged a kidney! Not much else to report, look forward to your next update, cheers 4 now.