Japan, Day 4: Northwestern Kyoto and Arashiyama

Well, another full-blown day of sightseeing, and another one-eye-closed effort at typing. Last night, my body was begging to put it in bed early, but I met another American here at the hostel and we went down to the Gion district for about an hour or so. Upon returning back to the hostel, I ended up staying up until 2:00 am playing card games with some Aussies.

Needless to say, it was tough dragging my poor, aching body out of bed and into the shower. I managed to leave the hostel around 10:00 am before trekking to the Kyoto train station. It was my intention to reserve a spot on tomorrow night's Moonlight Nagara train bound for Tokyo. Unfortunately for me, the train was completely sold out...now I am left without a way to get to Tokyo or accomodations for tomorrow night (the hostel is completely booked, too!). I'll try to work some magic tonight, though.

The incredible Kinkaku-ji, or "Golden Temple".

After hearing the bad news, I took a bus up to the northwest portion of Kyoto. My first stop was Daitoku-Ji. The was another huge temple devoted solely to the school of Zen. I next walked about a mile to one of Japan's most well-known temples: Kinkaku. This is also referred to as the "Golden Temple" since it is covered in gold foil. It sits by a lake, and the reflection is beautiful. After wandering the grounds, I passed an outdoor area where girls in kimonos were serving tea and cake to couples in L-O-V-E seated on top of low tables. Well, I sucked up my singleness and tried the experience alone, and I am glad I did!

My snack of frothy green tea and cake.

From Kinkaku, I walked to Ryoanji...you guessed it, another temple. This was actually quite interesting because Ryoanji is the home to a dry landscape garden. Basically, it's a large garden consisting of gravel with a few stones artistically placed throughout. It sounds boring, but it was actually rather enchanting.

Ryoanji's dry landscape garden.

An ancient fountain at Ryoanji Temple.

From Ryoanji I took a tram-like train to a nearby town called Arashiyama. By this point my legs refused to carry my body and backpack any further, so I rented a bicycle...it was the best $5 I've ever spent! I rode through neighborhoods and farms, stopping at temples and shrines along the way. It was such a peaceful time, riding through bamboo forests and quiet paths, half-expecting a panda bear to jump out in front of me. I completed my bicycle journey around 5:00 pm and took the train back to Kyoto. As I walked back to my hostel, I refused to resist the temptation any longer and entered The Gap. Two pairs of jeans, three shirts, a snazzy gold handbag, and over $100 later, I walked out of that place feeling more content than a Buddhist monk.

Bicycling through Arashiyama's enchanted bamboo forest.

I then had my first meal out in Japan (yes, you heard that right...I brought oatmeal packets, a jar of peanut butter, and bread and have been living off that nutritional and cheap combination for the past three days now). I had rice, some kind of meat, soup, an eggroll, and a weird ball of red bean paste, and I swore it was filet mignon. And at the price of $13, it should have been!

I got back to the hostel at 8:00 pm, took a nice hot bath, put on my jammies, and now I must get to work figuring out what I will do tomorrow. Wish me luck!