... Arriving in Kyoto was strange, we had gone from the snow covered land of Hokkaido and were now hot enough to be needing a trip to the seaside! We settled in a nice little youth hostel, I still have their leaflet; the girls had one room and the boys had another. They where quite dark inside, with dark wood furniture, bunk bends on both sides of the room and Im pretty sure they had gaudy yellow blankets.
There was a computer with Internet so we got a chance to check our emails. There was a public bath too, quite daunting really! One room to leave your town then you step into the bathroom, showers lined 2 Walls, little stools at each, facing a large mirror, in the corner a large wood bath. (in Japan a bath is not for washing only relaxing and you should never get in without having a good wash using the shower first)
We spent a couple of days in kyoto, we spent an entire day touring the shrines and gardens, i saw some of the most beautiful sites I've ever seen. Kinkaku-ji was deffinatly a breath-taker! A golden pavilion surrounded by deep blue water and lush greenery! We met a lot of people on our tour, our photo was taken so many times I felt like a celebrity!
We took part in traditions, ringing a bell, doing a certain amount of steps from one stone to another with our eyes closed, throwing 5 yen over our shoulder into a dish, I got it in, some young boys were very impressed and told me I'm lucky. We did have a lot of fun touring, even with all the history lessons, it was truly fascinating!
Despite all the fun we had one thing to do, a very hard thing, to visit the peace museum. I would rather not talk about it as it is highly upsetting, especially for anyone like myself who had a grandad who fought against the Japanese. I do think people should visit if they get a chance but it's a lot to take in and very upsetting.
All that aside we did get more fun! Karaoke bar was a must, we had a lot of fun, it's a great way to wind down after a long day shopping! Shopping in Kyoto is great! We all ran off in different directions, I've never seen a shopping place like it! It wasn't really a mall or anything I've ever seen before, more like lots of large alleys with stalls and shops either side! We all got gifts for people back home who we hadn't already got gifts for, it was our last chance to do so.
I think that was our last day, then we had to go home. I bought some last minute goodies at the airport, all hello kitty related. Before I knew it I was home and the most amazing experience of my life was over
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