kyoto

took us bout 2 and a half hours of bus ride from nagoya to kyoto station... met up with our friend hikaru-chan and had ramen for lunch at the kyoto eki (station) cost me around 580yen... well, i know things are really expensive, all things are expensive compared to malaysai! just have to get used to not converting everything into ringgit lah... you`ll get even more so depressed if you do so everytime before buying something... hey, they have isetan there leh! sort of reminded me of the isetan suria klcc...

then, we took a city bus to this shijo street! lots of interesting lil shops, shopping arcades... went to this ginza fujiya for dessert! i had a chocolate parfait... so so nice, just dont ask me bout the price lah... hey, it was halloween and thought of giving myself a treat lah... after so many weeks of hardwork and tests and etc... hah, excuse! heheh! hikaru took us to this very famous boutique selling cosmetics and stuff... you must be wondering why... Sze Hwei??? macam tak kene mengena right? hey, this shop bu4 jian3 dan1 heh... those geishas... you know geishas right? foundation, blushers... facial cleanser and stuff... this Yojiya`s best selling item is the `abura tori gami` the oil blotter! everyone goes to that shop to get those oil blotting sheets... they sell like hotcakes out fresh from the oven eh! no kidding! geishas use them too, no kidding!

first day was okay lah, didnt do much sightseeing as we were tired from walking, with our backpacks... a map in hand and that`s it! got lost and walked a few extra miles... arghh, biasa lah! yu-ting wasnt very good with directions so i had to take over the role of a navigator lah... heheh, self praise again! found our way to our hotel all right... strategically located in front of the yamashina eki... you have the JR trains and subways... very convenient eh! that night, it was the first time sleeping on a mattress after arrinving in japan 2 months ago... mattress, no kidding! not futon ya! typical japanese lah... they have all sorts of programme on their tv... i mean ALL sorts of programme... hmm, well... buat tak tau aje lah!

the next day, got ourselves a one day pass! first stop was the golden pavillion (kinkakuj) listed under the UNESCO`s world heritage site... then, the 300years old Nijo Castle... remember the tokunaga shogun... well, the main castle is in tokyo lah... the kyoto castle was used by his men as a refuge or something like that... had to take off our shoes upon entering the castle... the grandeur of the wall paintings, with sheets of gold on them... very well preserved and maintained... we got ourselves a high school student priced ticket, which is like 350yen compared to the normal 600yen ticket! ahahah! thanks to yu-ting... dont ask me how!

then, Heian Jingu... kyoto is very much an ancient city, full of shrines and temples and castles lah... and that`s it! they do have pretty gardens in them lah... the place i like most is the kyomizudera (the temple of clear water), situated on top of a hill... along the way up, there were shops selling local products, souvenirs and stuff which tourist would usually buy lah... as usual! oh ya, kyoto is famous for its oil blotting sheets, toufu, japanese dolls, and shrines of course! had a picture taken with a geisha!! well, her make up is really really `thick` and `heavy` eh! cukup tebal! and the japanese men think that the sexiest part of a woman`s body is.... guess what! the neck!!! tak sangka huh? okay okay... to sum it all up... if you have only one day to spend in kyoto, kyomizudera and kinkakuji are the places you should go! trust me, you`ve not been to kyoto if you dont visit these places...

third day, checked out the hotel and headed for arashiyama. took the JR train... well, nice scenery lah, this bridge across the river called the du4 yue4 qiao2... we`re a bit (2weeks) early for the autumn leaves... well, we saw some lah, just a lil! spent quite a lot on shopping and makan! tried all those kyoto cuisine, like the ishiyakitoridonburimono... matcha sofuto ice-cream is really nice on a sun shinny day! bought some omiyage (souvenirs) to be brought back to malaysia... heheh! hint hint! in a nutshell, the trip was really fun lah! and am extremely exhausted after the 3days 2nights kyoto trip... heh, next stop will be takayama in gifu prefecture! a one day trip, organised by the centre for international studies lah!