May 14,2010-We checked out of our capsule hotel in Tokyo in the morning, and made our way to the bustling Tokyo train station.
In and out, like ants, were men in black. Almost every man living in Tokyo wears a suit, no matter how old they are. As we squeezed through the morning crowd, lost in the huge never-ending labyrinth trying to navigate our way with our 10kg backpacks, men with ties, suits and shiny black briefcases zipped in and out like ants in gazillion lines.
Finally, after some navigation, we finally found our platform to wait for the bullet train, or Shinkansen, to bring us to Kyoto. We ate our breakfast, which was a triangular rice ball for me, and left for Kyoto in the 200plus km/h train.
And boom. We were transferred from a city which travels at breakneck speed to one that was idyllic, calm and peaceful. Temples and shrines line the terrain of central Kyoto, with bus services plying from one tourist attraction to another. Building were no taller than 15 stories, and I thought it was a major reason why Kyoto was much colder than Tokyo.
The moment we exited the train station, an old man approached us. He asked us in English where we were headed and if we needed any help in navigation. Yes, yes we do! He told us he was a volunteer guide, and promptly told us how to get to our hostel, but not before giving us maps of Kyoto in English and giving advice on buying day passes for buses. Now that I think about it, it was very pleasant to have met him.
When we got to our hostel, K's House Kyoto, we were even more pleasantly surprised. The hostel was rated 2nd best hostel in Asia and it was not hard to see why. The whole place, decorated in homely colours and bright blue doors, was very clean. It had a cosy common room, a well equipped pantry, toilets which were really clean. The standards of this hostel was much higher than the ones in China which I stayed in.
Like in every hostel, the people there were mainly Caucasians. However, we did spot a few NUS boys (because they were wearing NUS shirts). We met this Chinese man whose name I have now forgotten, who told us which Kyoto sights are the best to catch. He also recommended us a 99Yen sushi place in downtown Kyoto, and he was the one who introduced us to Stephanie, a lone traveler from Hong Kong who became our friend and went to quite a few places with us in Japan.
Thus, after some 99Yen sushi, we walked all the way to the Gion, trying to spot some Geishas. It was the same place where in the olden days, Geishas roamed around to ply their trade. Boy, were we lucky! We spotted 2! True to the Arthur Golden book, they had their faces painted in white down to their neck in a deep V shape. Felicia thought the V shape came about because they were sweating in the hot summer heat. They also wore those cute little physics-defying shoes, the kind you see princesses in My Fair Princess wearing. No kidding! They had aides to walk with them lest they fall. And from the way they wobbled, they need those aides!
We walked to a temple/ shrine place to rest our legs, photo-whore, and then we went into a small little wine/grill shophouse for dinner. I'd never forget the experience in the shophouse. The shopkeeper was a shrewd old man who knew his English very well. Let's just say that we're not the kind of customers he was hoping for, and that led to an awkward dinner. Awkward dinners in a foreign land is quite scary, especially in a land known for its horror films, but thankfully, we made it out alive.
That night, after walking the streets of deserted Gion, we went back to K House, and met Stephanie, a traveler from Hong Kong. She had switched jobs, so before she started her new job, she went for a long holiday in Japan. So the next day, we made plans to have a picnic in the imperial palace together, after we witness a street procession.
Okay, I'm tired now. Watch out for the next post. :D
