Thursday, April 16, 2009

japan tweep: kyoto



 

from the fushima inari shrine in kyoto made by students praying for excellence in school! it made a very colourful welcome but something made me think that time spent folding these cranes could have gone to better use in time of need.. :)

we had a lovely time wandering through the torii tunnels. it was in the late afternoon and there were very little tourist so we had the entire place to ourselves. the rosy sunset seeping through the orange lent a gorgeous glow to our evening stroll..


my fav shot in the torii tunnel.


daniel brand cookies! he was most amused! :) but they looked rather boring so we didn't get any...

their departmental stores have amazing food sections. two whole levels. one with sweet treats and hot food, the other with dry items and fresh food! it was heaven!! kinda like harrods in london but all japanese!! we found so many interesting (some odd..) tidbits and snackies there.. yums...

and because kyoto is quite the tourist hub, we found ourselves lost in a long line of tourist trying to hop onto the local bus, which is extremely convenient and inexpensive but waiting would have killed me so we decided to brave the weather and inappropriate exercise gear and rent a bike. these bike people in kyoto are so well organized they had bike tours, maps and recommended riding paths for the entire town! :) A** for effort!! 


we got caught in a few sprinkles along the way but it was all good. we popped into a little coffee place near kinkakuji temple where we indulged in our second breakfast of pancakes, thick toasts with jam and delicious cappuccinos in the nicest vintage china. one day, i'll serve tea at my home like this! :)


the golden temple!! we breezed through its compounds before the crowds hit the garden!! somehow the smell after rain made this experience even prettier than expected.. also most tourists were distracted by some meet-the-fans-session with guest rockstar/author called daniel (in japanese, dain-ier-roo) so we had the whole park to ourselves!!! how lucky of us!!

and we found these gems!! 


teeny weeny blossom.. 


and a rare pine cone! cute! 

then we raced across town to make it to ginkakuji temple before sunset.. but it wasn't the destination but journey that thrilled us more! on route to the silver temple, we rode along the kyoto riverbanks in our rented bikes..


hello, orange bike!

and found more of THIS! 

 
and thought! 'hey! we're gonna miss the cherry blossom showers.. so..."


we MADE it happen! (p.s. check our my gross durian gloves..)

at the end of our very short visit in kyoto, we met up with daniel's super sweet japanese mom who travelled all the way from kanazawa to meet us and heard stories of her grandchild, natsuki, her adventures in israel, turkey, greece and beautiful places we've never heard of. her travels made us so envious. one day, buddy, we'll kick off our shoes and see those amazing streets filled with dyed leather goods, turkish coffee and drive for hours through europe. next and final stop, nagoya~!


 

9 comments:

  1. darling the pictures are gorgeous! makes me wanna go japan too! daniel's mum ic gorgeous!

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  2. hey, i tot the pic of u in the orange bike is so lovely!

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  3. awesome shots, and the one in the torii tunnel is just uber cool. :)

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  4. haha! :) accidental shot that turned out quite neat..

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  5. she is isn't she? i think japanese ladies have their own secret formulae to keeping young. maybe its the green tea!

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  6. yes she does! :) and italian too.. very cool right?

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