Kyoto: learning about Japan's imperial heritage and history

Kyoto is the former capital city of Japan and it has a population of more than 1 million. I had heard people say about their Kyoto experience: "once you see one temple, they all start to look alike," so I was beginning to wonder if that was indeed true. I found out it is NOT. First of all, a temple is Buddhist, and a shrine has its background in the Shinto religion. And in Kyoto, there are hundreds of them, so you just need to choose several to see. One way to gauge which locations to visit is to see if they're designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a "World Heritage Site."

The dazzling Kinkaku-ji Temple in Kyoto.

Our first stop was Kinkaku-ji, which was originally built by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu more than 600 years ago as his residence. The temple is easily recognizable with its gold-colored exterior that reflects so beautifully on the water that surrounds the temple. It actually burned down in 1950, but was rebuilt in 1955.

Then we stopped at the very impressive Nijo-jo Castle, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. This was built was Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, and served as the home to several shoguns. At this castle, I learned that samurai protected the shoguns, and that the ninja protected the samurai.

Our next stop was to old town Gion, where they do the maiko (geisha in training) and geisha outfits for women who want to walk around Kyoto. That is the one thing I really wanted to do, but didn't get around to do doing that while in Kyoto - oh well, next time. 

Following that, we stopped at the Ryoan-ji Temple, which is the famous rock garden where 15 rocks seem to float on a bed of carefully raked rocks. Our guide explained that 15 is a very auspicious number in Japan, so that's why the 15 rocks. 

The top of Kiyomizu-dera with stunning views of Kyoto.

Our next stop was to Kiyomizu-dera, which is one of the most popular temples to visit in Kyoto. It is recognized for its veranda that sticks out of a mountainside. It was simply gorgeous...and we got lucky with the weather because it was an amazing day in Kyoto on that Saturday, April 16. Look at that sky above the pagoda at Kiyomizu-dera - no filter or editing on that one. And we even saw some cherry blossoms too. What an unforgettable day, but it wasn't over just yet.

At Kiyomizu-dera.

This got us ready for the grandest one of them all: the Fushimi Inari Shrine. This is the one that is renowned for its thousands of vermillion torii lining a path up to the mountain. It is about a 2-hour hike to the top (no, we didn't have time for that). On this beautiful day, all the sightseers were out, and Fushimi Inari Shrine was so crazy busy. So, our tour guide/driver dropped us off at the front (which is directly across the JR Inari station if you're taking the train), and we made our way up.


There is also a famous scene in "Memoirs of a Geisha," where she runs up through the torii, of course Garett had to try to repeat that. :) The bottom is lined with many different food booths, souvenir shops, places where you can write out your prayers, this is the ultimate experience. I don't have enough superlatives to describe the experience at Fushimi Inari Shrine...I always wanted to come here, and I finally did. 


Before I close this entry, I must give props to our tour guide/driver, Mr. Ryutaro Nohara of MK Taxi. He is so personable, knowledgable and passionate about making sure visitors to Kyoto have a great time. Hiring a driver for the day is one of the best things we could've done...if you go to Kyoto, I highly recommend getting one from MK Taxi...they are the best, and Mr. Nohara is wonderful. 

Japan for the first time

Three years ago, the man and I went to New York City with his college buddy Brandon and his girlfriend, Tara. It was their first time to the Big Apple and we went during the Christmas season where they saw The Tree for the first time. That experience never gets old for me. And neither do travel experiences. Like New York City, Japan is a very experiential place, where you make memories with others...the more, the merrier.

This trip was nearly a year in the making as we decided that if the three of us were going to Japan for the first time (it wouldn't be the first for Garett), we'd go during cherry blossom season. We were able to find very good airfare on Hawaiian Air back in May of 2015 - about $600 per person...what a steal!

Tara, Brandon, me and Garett in Osaka where we had the most amazing takoyaki from a street vendor.

So, let the planning begin. Lucky for us, Garett is a planner and he had been mapping out our trip over 11 months - even arranging to buy our JR Rail Passes from JTB here in Hawaii. Did you know they don't sell them in Japan? So you HAVE to get them here in Hawaii and bring them with you - don't forget!!!

When he booked our airfare, Garett knew we would fly into Osaka, go to Kyoto, Hiroshima, Miyajima, then make our way back up to Tokyo via shinkansen (bullet train) and fly out of Haneda. 

On the first night we landed on Thursday, April 14, we just took it easy and checked into the Hotel Nikko Kansai Airport - very close to the airport and the train station. We needed a good night's sleep for the next eight nights. I'll detail the days in upcoming blog entries, but if you plan to go to Japan and cover as much ground as we did...just remember two things:

1. Bring the JR Rail Passes with you  - especially if they're for the Green Car, which is first class (or else you have to buy them a la carte there).

2. Look into a luggage transfer service - that was awesome to just take an overnight bag to Hiroshima and have our luggage transferred for us to Tokyo without having to take our heavy suitcases on the shinkansen.