Christmas was around the corner and since none of us were going home, we thought we'd escape Tokyo and go to a place where Christmas largely doesn't exist - the most traditional part of Japan. So, together with two other exchange students (one from Canada, one from Hong Kong) I ventured on the night bus to the Kansai region in the west.
Our little trip begun in Kyoto. I adore this city with all its temples, stunning nature, and lovely people! Some photos below:
...went to numerous temples...
...walked the bamboo forest...
...ate rice balls with kinako (soy bean flour)...
...tried the local speciality which was basically tofu in water and a bunch of pickled veggies. Not very exciting. Lucky thing then that we found...
...tofu soft ice cream! Wow, people, this is good stuff, let me tell you that.
It later became daily practice for us to have one of these bad boys.
Some stunning views in Arashiyama with sunshine - and even a little sprinkle of snow!
But it was pretty.
Highlight of Kyoto: yatsuhashi. It's a sweet, similar to mochi. It looks something like a dumpling and you can get it in tens of different flavours: sesame (damn good), black sesame (yum!), strawberry (yuck!), grapefruit (waah - this is not made for fruity flavours), chocolate (worst one), green tea, red bean paste, orange (blah), and so on and so on. How, do you ask, is that I know what all of these taste like? Well, see the small box there? Yeah, they had tastings. Of every flavour. And not only in this place, no - in every single shop down the street we walked after the Golden Temple! Also, they'd give you a cup of tea to go with it! Seriously, we lived off yatsuhashi tastings that day, and by the end of it, neither of us ever wanted to see one of them again. I got two packs which are sadly gone now. No yatsuhashi in Tokyo either. But I hear them have an online shop...
Onwards to Fox Temple! Standard temple, really, except this long, long row of gates. There was another path which stretched over 4 km but lazy us didn't walk that one. We settled for this short one, but it looks cool, eh?
Food in Kyoto was amazing. So vegetarian-friendly and tofu-esque! This little gem here is tempura udon with udon noodles, eggplant tempura, radish, and nori (seaweed). Usually it's served with dashi, fish broth, but it's lovely-jubley without it too. Dash a little ground sesame on there, and a splash of soy, and you're good to go!
More temples - and a big one! Kyomizu is famous for the gate (above) and the Love Temple. At the latter there are two stones, and the practice is that you should walk from one stone to the other with closed eyes - and the closer to the second stone you end up, the sooner/more likely/easier will you get a loved one! There were also some seriously beautiful views here. (For more photos from Kyomizu, see below.)
Tallest pagoda in Japan.
Just some park close to the pagoda. Very pretty here, and I can imagine it's even prettier in spring and earlier in autumn when all the leaves are colourful. We also had our second tofu ice cream here. Mm...
Obviously there are a gazillion photos from Kyoto, but as it would be far too much to put them here, you can see them if you click the link below. Watch this space for posts on Nara and Osaka as well. Nara was a bit more eventful with all the deer, and Osaka, well, let's just say they appreciate the blondes...
For all photos: Click here.Jo x
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