Kyoto

Had a few days off, took a little trip to Nagoya and Kyoto. One of the highlights was catching a baseball game where the Nagoya Dragons defeated the not so fierce Swallows of Tokyo. It was pretty much a blowout. Seeing a ballgame in Japan was a very different experience. They really like to cheer. All game. Its really loud and festive. Like a World Cup game but without the pageantry and quality of play.

Took the Bullet Train to Kyoto, it was fast. Kyoto was a bigger town than I expected, but it's pretty with lush forested hills on east and west sides. We saw lots of temples and shrines and also made several Geisha sightings. The food situation proved to be a little tricky at times. Vic and I realized that we really only like the American version of Japanese food, i.e. sushi rolls, tuna nigiri and chicken teriaki. They didn't have much of that so we tried lots of foods that we will probably never eat again. Kyoto was a bit crowded. It was unexpected. They paint Kyoto as a quaint town with lots of tradition and an old world feel. But I couldn't seem to avoid running into some little old lady every couple of steps. Japan seems to be half full of old people who can barely walk who insist on using public transportation with the other half being young girls who like to wear leggings under jean shorts with high heels to the supermarket. They are a pretty wacky people.

Another highlight was the bamboo forest on the west side of Kyoto. It's not too big, but it was pretty and had some trails that allowed us to get away from the city for a bit. We found all the temples and shrines to be pretty peaceful. Most of them are nestled up in the foothills and were very simple yet ornate at the same time. It was cool to see stuff thats been around for over 1500 years. The main times of year to be in Kyoto are during the fall when all the Japanese Maples are vibrant red or in spring when the cherry blossoms are blooming. We will have to head back in the spring, we could imagine how pretty the city would be when it was in bloom.

Here are some pictures, we didn't take too many on this trip.

Bamboo Forrest

One of the several Shrines we saw

Temple with Geisha posing at bottom. We had to be pretty stealth to get any Geisha shots. They are few and far between and don't really like you taking pictures of them.

Temple in Gion, the Geisha district

I found Pudsy has been reincarnated as a shopkeeper in Kyoto. All I wanted was a pack of gum but she told me to kindly leave.