Day 8 - Kyoto to Tokyo, and Akihabara

After a good night's rest, we woke up and packed and got ready to leave. We were still pretty exhausted so we took the train back to Kyoto station. It was time to make our trip back to Tokyo.

So we got to Kyoto station, bought our tickets for the bullet train, and then went to get breakfast. We ate at a little french restaurant inside the station, it was actually pretty good.

Since this is a travel day for us, not too many pictures or videos because we were hauling luggage around. By now, our luggage has gotten a lot heavier, and we were carrying additional pieces as we were loading up on souvenirs.

I will say though, Kyoto station is one of the most beautiful train stations I have ever been in. The architecture is amazing, and the building itself is massive. There are multiple floors, multiple entry ways, there are multiple train lines running through, and it is so beautiful. The top floor is an observation deck, we stopped there for a bit to relax since we had time to kill before our next train.

Kyoto Station

Kyoto Station

Kyoto tower in the distance, from the Kyoto Station Observation Deck

While we were waiting on the platform for our train, I remember getting a little teary eyed. It was Sunday so lots of folks were beginning to head back to work and school. One thing I did see was a family on the platform all talking to one kid, who was dressed up. The were talking and hugging and taking photos.

A train arrived and the kid, who was probably a college kid, but he did look very young, gave a big hug  and a bow to everyone. He grabbed his bag and got on the train, and he went to the window. His family was waving and wiping tears from their eyes and soon the train was off (trains in Japan typically only stay at each station for less than 30 seconds, that's another topic!).

As they family watched the train disappear after the curve they start walking back to the stairs. Even though I didn't understand, I knew a good bye when I saw one. It was a big nostalgic and made me a little home sick. The train was bound for Tokyo and guessing how he was dressed, he was going to school or to work for a big company.

Saying good bye is always hard. Even after several years of living away from home, it still is hard to say good bye. Having the whole family out - parents, siblings, grand parents, and probably even cousins, looked like they were all very proud of their loved one who was off to do fun things in Tokyo.

Our train pulled up next and it was our turn to get to Tokyo. We got a special train, this one was an express training that had only two stops before getting to Tokyo. I was really excited to see how fast this one could go.

While it looks confusing, it's actually easy to read.

No pictures or videos of this train, again we had a lot of luggage and only about 30 seconds to hop on the train.

When we arrived in Tokyo, we were in the infamous Tokyo station. This building is huge and a major transit hub in Japan. So many rail lines, subway, metro, and other train stations stop there. There are bus terminals, and a lot of cabs on the surface. It is a major place to be.

Fortunately, we had one other stopped after we got to Tokyo. We were staying in Akihabara - or electric town. This part of Tokyo used to be where folks could go and buy just about every electric part possible. It is now a massive center dedicated to manga, anime, and geek culture.

It's essentially geek capital.

Akihabara Tokyo

This was a cool building - just an electronics store though!

We were staying in the Dormy Inn. A Japanese style hotel with an outdoor, rooftop onsen. It also had free breakfast in the morning. While I didn't get any pictures of the Inn, you can check it out in the following link: https://www.hotespa.net/hotels/akihabara/

The rooftop Onsen was the best, especially after a long day of walking.

From the above website, not my photo.

So after we check in, and drop off our stuff. We go exploring to find a place to eat. Well, we happen to come across a British Pub. We figured it'd be a good place, after a long day of travel. It was here we met some fellow westerners and started a night on the town.

After some food and pints, we all decided we had to do karaoke. After all, we were in Japan! So off we were - two Latinos, a Norwegian guy, an Australian guy, and an Irish guy off to sing some songs.

After our two hours of Karaoke, we went to finish our drinking in Roppongi. Roppongi is a part of Tokyo were many westerners stay. It's definitely more for foreigners, with signs in English and popular American chains present - TGI Fridays, Hooters, Carl's Jr. Our friends were excited, Josh and I felt indifferent. We could eat all of those in America.

Anyways, we ended up having some beer in TGI Friday's because it was still open, when typically other bars were closing for a Sunday night. It was time to say farewell, we went off our separate ways but I'll always remember that great time we all had together.

Tokyo Tower at night - preview for our next day.

We got back to the Dormy Inn and fell asleep - the next day was a big day - we were going to Tokyo Tower!

Day 7 - More of Kyoto

***editors note:

I am SO sorry I have not posted in a long time!! Life gets a hold of you, and next thing you know, several months have passed by! This is my first post of 2018 (ahhh!) but trust me, my memory of my time in Japan is still amazing. . . . mostly because I look back at all our pictures and the memories start rushing back in. Anyways, without further ado - let me begin where we left off!

It is Day 7, after having a great time at Beer Bar Miyama, we slept in a little and woke up to get a final taste of Kyoto. This time, we decided to hit the two big shrines - the Kiyomizu-Dera, Kinkakuji, and Fushimi Inari shrine. We realized that Fushimi Inari had a light festival at night so we decided to do that one then.

So we got our breakfast, and hopped on the subway to Kiyomizu-dera. This shrine is at the top of the mountain so we had quite the hike to do. Unlike Hakone, which is several feet up in elevation, Kyoto is nestled in between the mountains, so it was very hot and very muggy. So the walk to Kiyomizu-dera, was very very long.

The walk up to Kiyomizu-dera

We stopped a few times to hydrate (we were regretting the beers) but once we made it, the hike was so worth it. This temple is where the goddess Kannon is worshiped. It is a registered World Heritage site and considered a very holy temple.

This site is massive, when we arrived, we realized we had even more walking and climbing to do. The pagoda is massive and can be seen from most of Kyoto, so seeing it up close was awesome.

Kiyomizu-Dera

It is a Buddhist Temple, you must "cleanse" yourself before entering.

The inside of temple was beautiful. We stopped and said a prayer, as we were in the presence of a holy deity. The energy of the temple is intense, seeing all of the worshippers praying, many making long pilgrimages so they can pray for good health, fortune, or even love. You can't help but stop and pray with them, and hope that they find what they are seeking.

I tried taking pictures of the inside, and then Josh kindly pointed me to the sign that said "no pictures" - whoops! Out of respect for the holy site, I did not keep those pictures.

The greatest part of Kiyomizu-dera is the porch with amazing views of Kyoto. However, it was under renovation (getting ready for the Olympics!). We did manage to see how it would look like, and we got a great view still from the side.

The View

This was the part under renovation

Outside the temple was another little shrine, this apparently dedicated to love. The greatest part is that there are two stones opposite of each other. The tradition is that a young couple can come to these stones, the girl is blindfolded at one stone, while the guy waits on the other side with the other stone. If the guy can direct the girl to him, by only calling her name, than their love is real and they will spend the rest of their lives together.

Can you find your love?

There were lots of teenage girls trying this out, it was very funny to watch them. I tried to convince Josh to try it, but said no. Following which, we decided it was time to head to the next shrine, but first lunch.

This was our lunch, the inside of this bun has red bean paste. 

We made the hike down the mountain (just as painful as going up) and decided to eat lunch in the Gion district. As we were searching for a spot, we realized, there was a shrine there - it was THE Gion shrine.

The Gion Shrine

The festival in town was for this shrine, so we made an impromptu stop and went in. The shrine was beautiful, full of flowers, and various vendors for the festival. We stopped by a little old lady selling jewelry, and she asked if we were buying a gift. Josh said yes, and she asked "for who?". Josh responded "Ocasa" which is Japanese for mother, and she immediately pulled out a bracelet which happens to be Josh's mom's birthstone. Talk about coincidence.

We then started walking down the historic Gion district. This is where the famous Geisha's roam the streets. However, we didn't see any. This district is a mix between 1000 year old buildings, with modern luxury built in it. For example, check out the Hermes store. I'm sure it was not there 1000 years ago, but it looks great!

This building is 1000 years old! 

The architecture of Gion. 

We grabbed a bite to eat at the mall that was nearby, and stopped for some Starbucks. We sat for a bit, the walking and the heat was really starting to get to us. After our break, it was time to visit Kinkakuji.

This time, we took the bus. The bus, was crowded of course, but the air conditioning was a nice break from the heat. The bus stops have misters that spray water to keep you cool which was nice.

When we arrived at Kinkakuji, we were swept away by the beauty of this temple. You cannot actually go inside the temple, but the view is enough. This temple is made from gold leaves which shine when the sun hits them. It was donated by a very wealthy man who dedicated his life to buddhism. This was just an awesome sight to see.

It was very beautiful 

Josh and I getting good pictures.

You could get this close.

The gold leaves just sparkle in the sun.

You must come visit here. 

After this, we took the bus back to the mall area, and grabbed some gyoza to eat. We were so exhausted, but we had one more temple to see. After a quick break, we hopped on to the subway and made our way to Fushimi-inari shrine.

When we got to Fushimi-Inari Shrine, the crowds were already massive. Everyone was getting ready for the light festival. The walk up to the shrine was another hike, but thankfully we had our water with us.

This shrine is dedicated to the fox - the deity of power. It is very holy, and filled with thousands of tori gates. In fact, there is a trail from the foot of the shrine, up to the top of the mountain, which has over 1000 tori gates. While we wanted to walk that trail, we were told it's about two hours up the mountain, and two hours down.

The Light Festival about to begin.

Main Part of the Shrine. 

The lanterns really added to the beauty. 

The Fox Deity. 

The beginning of the 1000 tori gate trail, too many people! 

Our feet were nearly exhaustion, we decided to come back, maybe in a cooler climate, to tackle this one.

The festival was exciting. Lots of activities going on, and we got some sweet souvenirs. We even got stuff for ourselves which was nice.

The talk back to the train stop was a bit torturous, we were nearly muscle exhaustion in our feet and legs. We stopped a few times. Finally, we got to the train stop and sat down on the bench. It felt great. We were really lucky, the train back to the apartment was empty so we got to sit during the ride.

Once we got to the apartment, we showered and went straight to sleep.

Out of all of our days in Japan, this one was one of the most action packed days. It tested our physical limits, and was very spiritual as we visited so many holy sites. There is an energy in the air in Kyoto. You can feel the presence of all of these deities and how worshipped and adored they are by their people.

This was our last night in Kyoto. We had to catch the bullet train to Tokyo the next morning. As we were falling asleep, we were reflecting back on all of the beauty we saw. While our bodies were exhausted, our hearts and minds were full. It was a great night of sleep we had.

Good Bye Kyoto, Thank you for the memories.