LAST DAY IN KYOTO:
Omiyacho, Kyoto, Japan.
October 30th, 2013, 8:19pm.
Tomorrow is Halloween! The greatest day of the year! I'm so excited to get to Osaka and spend my favourite day of the year at Universal Studios! I'm predicting it will be the best Halloween yet!
Today, still separated from Real, I explored some temples and shrines near our hostel. I had breakfast at McDonalds, and met two guys there. They were from the UK. We sat together and chatted about our vacations so far. We gave each other tips on what to do next! They told me about a temple literally at the end of the block from where we were. It was called "The Sanjusangen-do Temple." It, along with many other Temples in Kyoto, is deemed a National Treasure. The two men walked me to the Temple. We wished each other save travels, and I went in to explore the Temple by myself. It was amazing!
The temple was 120 metres long. Reason being that it was used for archery tournaments waaaaay back in the 1100s. In the name, "Sanjusan" mean 33. This number is derived from the belief that Kannon Bodhisattva saves all of mankind by disguising himself as 33 different figures. Inside the Temple, are 1001 gold statues of the Kannon Buddha, along with one giant statue in the middle. In front of the rows and rows of these golden statues, are 33 God-like figures that are there to "protect" the 1001 statues. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the Temple, so I bought a cheap (but really good!) book about the whole thing. It describes many different features of the Temple, including how it was built in order to survive earthquakes, etc. Its almost too much to explain, so, either search it up on the web, or get your butt over to our house and visit me! :)
After my visit to the Sanjusangen-do Temple, I went back near the place that I had my Maiko Makeover done. I went around Gion, and Omiyacho. I saw the Kiyomizu Temple, which really wasn't anything special. There was just a really pretty view at the top, where I sat for a very, very long time. I could see the mountains, the sky, the Kyoto Tower, the buildings, the forests, everything! It was beautiful! I got my telephoto lens out, and snapped some great shots of the view! It was awesome! I made my way back down, passing all the amazing shops and food stores. I samples some Japanese gummy/candy snacks, which aren't exactly desserts... It's hard to explain. I went through toy shops, souvenir shops, clothing shops, but found nothing for myself. I did finally find something for my dad, though! I bought him a T-Shirt that says, "dragon" on it in Kanji... He loves T-Shirts... and I bought him a tie that I think he'll really like! It's really dark blue, almost black, and has subtle Japanese designs on the bottom. It reminded me of him as soon as I saw it, so I knew I had to get it! It was pretty inexpensive, too! :)
Anyway, I made it back to the hostel a little early because I bought so much stuff, I couldn't carry it any further. I sat there and waited until Real texted me, telling me he was ready to make our way to Osaka. He eventually did, at around 5. We met at the Kyoto Station, and Reiko, the lady who took us to Nara on Sunday, went with us to Osaka. We took a taxi to our hotel, the Swissotel, and made ourselves comfortable. Like every other hotel and hostel room, we were near the top level. The view was fantastic! We arrived in the dark, so the city lights lit up the horizon. There were buildings as far as the eye could see! Osaka is like a mini Tokyo. And by mini, I mean smaller than Tokyo. Which isn't that small.
We met up with another one of Real's cousins, and her and her friend took us to see the night life up close and personal!
We saw tons of girls in Halloween costumes. It was great! And we passed a hundred different stores and shops. Apparently we were in the main area of Osaka where all the kids my age hang out! I wished we could have stayed longer. It was buzzing with life and energy. We went to a restaurant, where the grills were built into your table! It was so cool! The food cooked right in front of you! It was kind of like the restaurant in Kyoto that we went to with our hostel crew, but this was a pan, and not a grid with a flame. We ate that famous Japanese pancake- Omiblahblahblah. I don't remember the name. Ugh, I guess I better search the name...
Okonomiyaki!!! See? How was I supposed to remember that name? It was gross, actually. It was like, tofu, cabbage, pancake batter, cheese, mayo, and some sort of Japanese sauce. Even Real had troubles getting it down. Luckily, I had a Japanese alcoholic drink to wash it down!
We were at the restaurant until around 11pm, and decided to get to bed. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow! Universal Studios! With zombies! Woooohoo! I can't wait :)
I'll let you know how the night goes tomorrow! And Happy Halloween to everyone! I wish I could be there to party and dress up with you! I better see some pictures!
Love always,
Lindsay Lehr