Japan: Part III Day three (Kyoto)

I arrived in Kyoto surprised to find a huge city in the place most commonly known for Japanese tradition. Kyoto is often called "the city of a thousand temples," because it has an astonishing 1,600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines. Friends forwarned me about trying to see too much when visiting Kyoto, especially because the sights are located all across the city, so I took their advice and just picked a few. In one afternoon, I shuttled myself around to my top three choice sights:


Kinkakuji temple, a.k.a. The Golden Pavilion, one of Kyoto's most famous sights


Nijo Castle, with beautiful ornate gold interiors and squeaky Nightingale floor


and Sanjusangendo Temple: This was my favorite sight. The picture of the 1001 Kannons in my Japan book looked so intriguing, I had to see it in real life. My jaw dropped. The 40-armed statues were hand carved and covered in gold leaf. The statues alone were impressive, but seeing 1000 of them together offered a truly interesting piece of artwork to look at. It was quite a treat for the eye. I enjoyed noticing all the intricate details on each statue, trying to identify how one differed slightly from the next.

After that, I wondered around Gion to get a taste of the traditional culture. I even saw a couple Geishas!

(Pictured Left: Gion Street, styled like traditional Japanese buildings; right: normal sidestreet)
After all that craziness shuttling myself all around Kyoto all day, it was time to sit down to a good meal. I wondered off the main street and found an inviting sushi restaurant. I made friends with my Sushi chef and his Japanese friend sitting alone at the counter. They were pleasant company, and it was cool to meet some locals, even if we could barely talk to each other. We giggled a lot as they tried to teach me the Japanese words for the various kinds of fish. Arrigato gozaimas!

Then, in effort to see and do as much as possible, I hurried to the train station to find my way to Hiroshima.