Kyoto day 1: temples and geishas

Sunday, April 06, 2014
Kyoto, Kinki, Japan
We were pretty much chased out of Osaka by the rain. Sunday turned out pretty cold (+10) and rainy, so we checked out of the hotel, had breakfast at a European-style cafe and took a "special express" train to Kyoto. The original plan was to stop in Nara on the way to Kyoto, but due to the weather we decided not to risk it.

The bus station near Kyoto's main train station was packed with tourists going exactly in direction we needed to go, so we decided to walk to the hotel instead . It wasn't very far, so we got there in 30 minutes, by around noon. The hotel is a ryokan, an old wooden building, very authentic. It deserves a separate description, so I'll come back to it with more detail.

After dropping off the bags we walked to the nearest temple: Kiyomizudera (Pure Water Temple), one of the most popular temples in Japan. To approach the temple we walked through historic Higashiyama district, lined with excellently preserved buildings mostly housing small shops and restaurants. They have been catering to the tourists and pilgrims for centuries. Since it was Sunday and the peak of sakura blossom season, the area around the temple was filled with overwhelming amount of tourists, both domestic and international. Many people dress up in kimonos and even geisha outfits to take photos on ancient streets and with temples. Because of all the bustle and quite cold weather we decided to postpone going up on the temple's famous wooden platform hanging over a cliff, tomorrow morning should be a better opportunity .

After we left the temple, it started to rain, so we stopped for a late lunch at a fancy soba noodle restaurant. Luckily, it stopped raining while we were eating, so we kept walking the crowded streets of the historic district. We saw the tall Yasaka Pagoda from several angles, as it towers above low-rise houses. We walked by Kodaiji temple that was already closing its gardens. Then we headed Maruyama park, the most popular spot for sherry blossom viewing parties. It was filled with tourists, festival stalls and, of course, tons of blossoming sakuras. We walked through Yasaka shrine (filled with tourists) to Gion district, the famous geisha district. Walking through Hanami-koji street (mostly lined with fancy tea houses) we spotted not one and not two, but three real maiko! You can tell a real maiko (or a geisha) from a tourist dressed up in fancy kimono by the way locals react: the guys hovering around small alleys with large cameras jump out and literally run circles around the girl, snapping photos .

After the sunset it started getting really cold, so we headed back to the hotel, where we changed into yukatas and I pretty much immediately fell asleep for a few hours.
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Comments

juliettka
2014-04-13

Pictures of the two of you in yukatas to the studio!

2025-02-17

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