After having breakfast at the hotel, we went to Kiyomizu Temple.  There was this huge orange pavilion attached to it, which was really cool.  The temple itself was beautiful and there was an amazing view of Kyoto!  Right next to the temple was the Kyoto Jishu Shrine.  The Japanese see it as a dwelling place for the god of love and matchmaking.  There is a rock there known as the love stone and if you can walk to it with your eyes closed and touch it, you will have luck in love.  I did it, of course.  I could use as much luck as I can get!  While we were there, Dr. H pointed out to us that along the top of the archway of the shrine, called a torii, there is a length of rope.  All the shrines have it.  According to Japanese mythology, the sun goddess's brother had embarrassed her, so she shut herself away in a cave, leaving the earth in darkness.  The other gods eventually coaxed her out by having a party outside of the cave.  The goddess's curiosity got the best of her and when she peaked her head out to see what was going on, they grabbed her and tied the stone that covered the cave back so that she couldn't hide again.

We continued to walk around the grounds, past a lot of small shrines.  We ended up at a shrine where if you drink the water, there are healing properties, so we all had a little.

When we were done, we went back onto a street where there were a lot of little shops, so we were given some time to wander.  I got a bunch of postcards and then most of us got a treat that was basically a cream puff filled with cherry blossom flavored cream.  It was really good!  Megan and Tess both got pork buns, as well, so we all got a taste of that, too.

Our next stop was Nijo Castle, the castle of the Shogun.  That was really cool!  Once again, the gardens were beautiful, and so was the inside of the castle.  The rooms were painted with intricate designs.  The floors were called nightingale floors because they are meant to squeak when you walk on them, to alert the Shogun that someone was there.  On the outside of the buildings was the crest of the imperial family, a chrysanthemum with eighteen petals.  After the end of the Shogun, Nijo Castle became the property of the imperial family.  We also walked through a group of plum trees that were blossoming, which was really pretty.

After that, we had the option of going to the Kyoto International Manga Museum, which was down the street from the hotel.  It was okay, but honestly, I got bored pretty quickly.  I was tired and my feet hurt.  I ended up leaving and going to a convenience store for lunch (riceball, chocolate, and juice) and when I was leaving, I saw Franco, Kristen, and Eric.  I walked with them to 7-11 (which is called something else in Japan) and Eric and I got melon bread.  Kristen and I ate lunch in the boys' room, and a little while after I had returned to my own room, Kristen came by to ask me if I wanted to check out another shrine down the street with her and Eric.  I said sure.

When we got to the shrine, we realized it might cost us money to go inside, so we didn't.  We did notice, though, that there were boar statues guarding the shrine, which is unusual.  You're more likely to see an animal like a lion or a dog.

This evening we went to a lantern festival!  I'm so glad I got to have that kind of experience.  It was at a nearby shrine, and when you walk in, the initial path is lined with street vendors selling food and other items.  I bought chopsticks.  At the festival, two geishas performed a couple dances, which was really incredible.  They were dressed so beautifully and they moved very gracefully.  I'm so glad I got to see it.  When we continued on, we walked along a path lined with lanterns and there were large displays of flower arrangements illuminated by spotlights.  I wish I had a kimono to wear for the occasion! 

After arriving at the Palace Side Hotel in Kyoto last night, I took a shower and completely crashed.  I didn't even remember to turn out the light.

My roommate is Tess.  Now that I know everyone's names, I can say who I'm here with: Tess, Megan, Kristen, Becky, Eric, Tim, Franco, Dr K and his wife Youlin, and Prof. B and his wife Ellen.  We were told to meet at 8:30 this morning and before we did, we had a buffet breakfast in the hotel lobby.  I had scrambled eggs, toast, a piece of sausage that looked and tasted like a short hot dog, fish, yogurt, fruit, and rice with scallions.

After leaving the hotel, we walked down the street to the Sugawarian Temmangu Shrine.  One of the enshrined deities there is known as the patron of learning so, according to Dr. H, many students will go there to pray about exams.  You use the rope to hit the gong, bow twice, clap twice, and then bow one more time.

Next, we took a bus to Ginkakuji Temple.  The temple itself was really cool (each wooden shingle on the roof is made from Japanese cypress and is about 30cm long, with 3cm showing at the bottom end, fixed with a bamboo nail), and there were designs made out of raked sand outside of it.  The temple is made out of wood that is very weathered and looks like it could use some repairs.  The Japanese love things that look natural to them, so the decaying wood is very beautiful to them.  In this case, I can see what they mean.  Anyway, Ginkakuji Temple is also known as the Silver Pavillion.  After passing the temple and sand designs, we walked into this beautiful garden.  The flowers weren't really in bloom yet, but the greenery was stunning.  We walked along a bamboo path, saw a small waterfall, a bamboo forest, and a spectacular view of Kyoto!  Along the path, we also saw a shrine dedicated to the deity of music.

To get to the temple, we walked along the Philosopher's Path.  It's a stone pathway lined with cherry blossom trees and follows a stream for a bit.  It is called the Philosopher's Path because it is said to inspire people.  When we left the temple, we continued along it a bit further.  We passed many beautiful homes along the way - I would love to live in one.  They generally aren't very big, but they were decorated with plants, staying with Japan's love of nature.  We saw a group of stray cats along the way, which the other students got really excited about.

Eventually we got to this huge Buddhist temple and I saw three monks walking by.  In the same area was the Nanzenji temple.  It was pretty.  It had a pond and nice gardens, so I really enjoyed it.

Our next stop was kind of like a small mall.  Dr. H said we could have two hours to walk around.  The eight of us stuck together about half of the time.  We found an arcade full of crane machine games, but none of us were able to win anything.  We also went to this little restaurant for lunch and chose to sit at traditional Japanese tables where we could kneel to eat.  I got tempora udon - thick noodles in a broth with a large piece of tempora shrimp (meaning it's fried).  Tim knows Japanese from learning it in high school, so he shocked the waitress when he spoke to her.  We split up after that.  Tess, Kristen, Becky and I just walked around.  I got some kind of strawberry drink that I thought was going to be strawberry milk, but I'm not sure that it was.  It was yummy.  Kristen and I saw kimonos on sale, which we wanted, but didn't have time to look into.

Next, we went to the Golden Pavilion.  After a long, crowded bus ride, we arrived mid-afternoon.  The pavilion itself was amazing.  It is in the middle of a pond and is covered in gold leaf lacquer.  We saw geisha while we were taking pictures, but when I asked one of them for a picture, she politely declined.  Our walk around the pavilion grounds was kind of disappointing.  It was full of vendors and didn't really have the gardens that I had expected to see, especially in comparison to the Silver Pavilion.

Our last stop was Ryoanji Temple.  The main attraction seemed to be the rock garden.  There were fifteen rocks surrounded by sand with designs raked into it.  It was very relaxing.  After walking by that, there were more gardens and a pond.  At the pond, there was a small shrine.  Dr. H said it was for the deity of the ducks - I think he was kidding.

We went back to the hotel after that and we told we were free to do whatever we wanted.  Meg, Kristen, Franco, Becky, Eric and I decided to go to the McDonalds down the street because it would be so cheap.  We had also heard that it would be different in Japan.  When we got there, there wasn't a menu over the counter like there would be in America, just a couple pictures.  So we stood around for a few minutes trying to figure out what to do.  Eventually, the guy at the counter caught our attention and showed us there was a menu on the counter, just a large laminated sheet of paper.  We all laughed and went to go look at it.  It was in Japanese.  So once again we were confused, trying to figure it all out and the guy at the counter came back over a few minutes later and flipped the menu over to the English side.  We practically died laughing!  I ended up getting Chicken Selects, a small fry, an apple pie and a medium drink.  Everything was different.  In America, the options for sizes for the chicken is three or six.  In Japan, it's one or two.  The french fries seemed the same size, but they tasted a bit different.  Kristen and I couldn't quite figure out what it was, though.  A medium size soda in Japan is the size of a small in America, and the apple pie I got was a tempora apple pie.  Oh, and the chicken tasted kinda funny.  It was dark meat and the breading was different.  I didn't really like it.

It's still early, but I'm absolutely exhausted.  Goodnight!

Arrival

I am now on a train to Kyoto.  Our plane arrived in Narita Airport in Tokyo at 3:00pm, Japan time.  We picked up our luggage and then went to get train passes that will let us ride the JR an unlimited amount while we're here.  We caught a train to Shinagawa, and now we're on one to Kyoto.  I'm very excited, but exhausted.  I dozed off a couple of couples on the plane, but only for a few minutes.  And it was such a long flight!

I am sitting next to a young Japanese woman on the train.  She's very nice!  She doesn't really know English, but she seemed kind of excited when I sat next to her.  She asked if I'm American and if I'm going to Kyoto.  We haven't said much else because of the language barrier.  I really wish I knew more Japanese.  Her name is Yese (I'm probably butchering the spelling).

I haven't seen very much yet.  I've noticed the transportation system is very clean.  The trains have women in cute aprons pushing a food and drink cart down the aisle.  I tried some kind of citrus soda.  It was different from what I'm used to.  It tasted like they forgot to add sugar.  I donno how I feel about it.

I've seen a lot of people wearing surgical masks.  Yese is wearing one.  I need to find out more about it.  I think it has to do with preventing the spreading of germs, but I don't know if they're the ones with colds or if they're trying to prevent catching one.  I guess it could work both ways.  I wish I could ask Yese.

The Journey Begins

Here I go again!  I am starting another chapter of my travel journal!  This time I'm going to Japan, which is number one in my list of countries I want to visit.  As you can imagine, I am absolutely thrilled!

My companions this time are seven other students from my college and four adults.  Dr. H (our professor) is the leader of our group.  I actually graduated last semester, but Dr. H said I could still come on the trip!  And I'm still even luckier because the scholarships that I would have used this semester if I hadn't graduated agreed to let me use them for the trip.  I received enough money that I am not paying anything for this!  My trip to Japan is free!  I feel like the luckiest girl in the world!

Dad drove me up to the school yesterday and my friends/ex-housemates, Emily and Bee, stayed up until 4:00am with me, even though they both have class later.

I met up with my group at four, and we drove to the airport in Albany, NY.  From there, we flew to Newark, NJ and we had a layover for about an hour and forty minutes.  So far, I've been hanging out with Kristen, Eric, and Becky.  They're really nice. Tim's really cool, too, but he went off on his own in the airport, so I don't really know him well yet.

Now I'm on the plane to Narita Airport in Tokyo.  We're 6,432 miles away from our destination, going 562 mph, at tan altitude of 32,000 ft!  According to the map on the airplane screen, it seems we're just starting to fly over Canada.  It looks like we're going tot fly over Canada and Alaska to get to Japan.

I'll update again when I get to Japan!