We left HGH early in the morning walking through a drizzle on the way to the subway. Our plan was to take a train to Nara (2.5 hour ride), visit Nara, and then leave for Mt. Koya.
The train ride to Nara went fast, as I slept for half of it. We had 2 hours in Nara, so we checked our bags into lockers at the station and then took off to see the largest Buddha in Japan. Incidentally, the largest Buddha is housed by the largest wooden building in the world! (more…)
Today was a busy day. We headed off to the Nijo Castle in light drizzle. It was going to be a long day, and we were both a little snippish from not feeling well. By the time we got to Nijo, the rain picked up and we were happy escape the weather. (more…)
Today we got up a little late, as now Dennis is under the weather. We went straight to the Imperial Palace in the center of Kyoto, just a couple blocks from HGH (Hirota Guest House).
The Palace is hosting the start of the Hollyhock festival, a parade style celebration to bring good luck on the city over the coming year. We found a spot on a grassy knoll (no we didn’t see any snipers!) and watched the procession of elaborate archers on horseback, beautiful ladies dressed in kimonos, and finally a “princess” being carried by us.
We took several pictures, but there was nobody around us explaining what all was happening, so we just watched. It was neato. (more…)
Sunday turned out to be a great day. We made it to the shinkanzen with plenty of time to grab some drinks/food for the 2 hour bullet train ride to Kyoto. In the train, I tried my best not to hack n cough all over the other patrons, but mostly I slept. The ride was so smooth, like being in a plane-amazing experience to go 150mph and be that smooth! (more…)
From May 12 to 14, I spent my time sleeping in our tiny room in Sakura Ryokan. I came down with a very nasty sinus infection. Dennis was in and out of the room on Saturday as the group went to Kamakura to see the giant bronze statue of Buddha. (more…)