Kyoto

We discovered to our horror that the $600 JR Pass we bought is really inefficient for travelling around Kyoto. Kyoto is best served by the subway and bus, neither of which is available with the JR Pass. The walk from Kyoto train station to our hotel about 3 blocks away nearly broke my legs. A case of my knack for choosing 'good' hotels really working for us (but honey, they all look so spacious in the pictures and near to the train stations on the maps!). We had no choice but to get a 2 day freepass that allows us to use certain subway and bus lines in Kyoto for an additional 2000 yen per person.

The first destination for us was the Imperial Palace gardens. Not many people were there in the morning (we arrived around 8am) except for joggers. After the gardens we went to Nijo-jo (jo meaning castle in Japanese) which was a shogun's residence. We got to see the beautiful artworks on the wall, the nightingale floor (floor squeaks so no one can walk inside the castle without notice) and gardens.

Sakura at the Imperial Palace Gardens
A must-visit on Gaz's list is the International manga Museum so we went there after lunch. We spent about 3 hours in this place although there really isn't much on there. Reason? Because there are rows and rows of free manga in every language imaginable, and I found Doraemon in Malay among the shelves. I spent 1 hour reading Doraemon and 2 hours reading Oshinbo (this is really hot!).

We were there till closing time, after which we went to a well known shopping street Terramachi-dori (dori-Japanese for street). Although it is a street with shops, it has a roof over the it which makes it look like a shopping mall. Interspersed between the shops selling clothes, food etc are temples! It seems that it used to be a street with many temples until the govt dictated it to be a shopping street and relocated many of them elsewhere.

We also went to Gion, where geishas come out to play at night, and the place where Arthur Golden's book Geisha is based. Strings of lanterns hung along the street, and there were people everywhere. But there were also mysterious alleys behind teahouses (now restaurants) where I imagine a geisha would pop out anytime hurrying to her next engagement.
This used to be a teahouse (overheard from one English speaking guide talking to her group)

I love Kyoto, it really is a beautiful cultural place. On weekends, girls and women alike wear kimonos looking like beautiful butterflies fluttering down the street. I find the city has a good mix of big city and cultural attractions.