Friday, December 21, 2007
Kyoto Vacation: Day 2
We slept in bit to help recover from the lengthy bus ride from the night before and then started to make our way to Nijo Castle. We were planning on walking the whole way and as we walked, ran across some other random temples that were under construction, but stopped to browse anyway. There seemed to be some sort of flower thing going on as there were a bunch of chrysanthemums out front, which was a trend we noticed through the day. After getting about half way to the castle, we realized it was way too far away and opted to take a bus the rest of the way.
The castle was gorgeous and we spent a fair amount of time exploring both the castle and it's gardens. And, as we were about to leave, ran across a little fair type thing that was going on, so we picked up some food. I got some ginger sembei, which I now wish I had gotten more of and eventually did get more of later in the trip. I have managed to find a version of the ginger sembei where I live, but it's just not the same.
After the castle, we headed to Nara, which is another city close to Kyoto. Nara is famous for the Todarji Temple, which houses one of the 3 largest statues of Budda in the world and also it's deer, which are tame enough for you to walk up and pet them! We toured around Nara for a big, saw the big Budda, and then headed back to Kyoto.
We then went back to the hostel and then to a restaurant that the concierge recommended, call Second House. It's actually an Italian restaurant, but it's super cute and the food was absolutely amazing! We both got set meals and it was probably the best meal I've had since moving to Japan. And, on our way to the restaurant, we spotted a couple standing outside a church. It looked like there was a wedding going on and the bride was wearing a bright pink wedding gown! And after that, we hit the sack once more. After food, it was back to the hostel for some sleep.
The castle was gorgeous and we spent a fair amount of time exploring both the castle and it's gardens. And, as we were about to leave, ran across a little fair type thing that was going on, so we picked up some food. I got some ginger sembei, which I now wish I had gotten more of and eventually did get more of later in the trip. I have managed to find a version of the ginger sembei where I live, but it's just not the same.
After the castle, we headed to Nara, which is another city close to Kyoto. Nara is famous for the Todarji Temple, which houses one of the 3 largest statues of Budda in the world and also it's deer, which are tame enough for you to walk up and pet them! We toured around Nara for a big, saw the big Budda, and then headed back to Kyoto.
We then went back to the hostel and then to a restaurant that the concierge recommended, call Second House. It's actually an Italian restaurant, but it's super cute and the food was absolutely amazing! We both got set meals and it was probably the best meal I've had since moving to Japan. And, on our way to the restaurant, we spotted a couple standing outside a church. It looked like there was a wedding going on and the bride was wearing a bright pink wedding gown! And after that, we hit the sack once more. After food, it was back to the hostel for some sleep.
