Kyoto, Japan

“Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures.”

Lovelle Drachman

As I’m whizzing past numerous Japanese cities on the Shinkansen (bullet train), I can’t help but feel that the public transportation in this country really puts the rest of the world to shame. These trains travel at about 320 km/h (200 mph), and are such a suitable way to travel around Japan.

They are convenient, running several times every hour, and much less frightening than flying in my opinion. The Shinkansen takes nearly the same amount of time you would spend flying from city to city, but you don’t need to deal with security or the hassle of an airport. Looking out the window, it seems as if you are watching a movie on fast forward.

I had visited about half a dozen cities throughout Japan, and my last destination was Kyoto. This former capital city is absolutely packed with tourists, marveling at the great shrines, temples, and lush scenery.

Unlike Tokyo, there are few skyscrapers, and many small alleyways and buildings where you can enjoy shopping, eating street food, and gazing at mountainous views. Apart from the gorgeous cherry blossom trees everywhere, another good reason to visit Japan in the springtime is the myriad of baby animals.

We took a stroll to a wildlife park, which was full of wild monkeys scurrying around, accompanied by their baby monkeys! They were so adorable, and I felt lucky that we got to see them.

The monkeys have such active facial expressions, and they were constantly chasing each other and grabbing food that people fed to them from designated feeding areas. They seemed like they had fun lives in this park; free food and shelter!

Onsen

In order to get a traditional Japanese experience, I was keen to stay in a ryokan; these are inns that have tatami-matted rooms and communal baths, called onsens. We got pretty lucky with finding a good deal online for a ryokan stay, as they are normally pretty expensive.

It was indeed a traditional style Japanese room, with the floor mattresses, sliding doors, and low tables with chairs for enjoying hot cups of green tea. Outside our large windows, we had river views with cherry blossoms blooming nearby.

My favorite part was going to the onsen. These hot spring baths are separated by gender. I headed upstairs to the female onsen, and as you enter the bathhouse, there is an area where you remove your shoes. Afterwards, you head through a curtain to a cubby area, where you must remove all of your clothes. When entering the bathing area, there are little shower heads with small stools and shelves full of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.

Before entering the hot spring, you must first rinse your body off with water. Then you can go sit in the hot water for a bit. When ready, you step out of the water, sit down on the little stools, and thoroughly wash your hair and body. Finally, you go back in the bath, and soak up the water.

I sat there for over an hour, peacefully enjoying the hot water amidst the cool night air. I took delight in washing my hair on the stools, and the soaps and shampoos were quite nice. There were only a couple other women in the bath with me, and at times I was completely alone. I felt awkward at first sitting there naked, but got used to it very quickly. It felt freeing, I must say.

Once finished with the onsen, I clothed myself in a traditional Japanese robe, and headed back to my room to sip on a hot cup of tea. The whole experience was very tranquil and relieved much of my stress.

After indulging in the treat of the ryokan, I switched to a cheaper place to live, a hostel. The host at this place liked to organize activities for the guests so they could socialize together, and on the first night, the activity was karaoke.

Japanese people love going out to sing karaoke, in small rooms that can fit maybe a maximum of 15 people. I left with the group, adamantly telling everyone that I was not going to drink or sing that night; I ended up doing both, excessively. After 10 PM, there was unlimited karaoke until 6 AM and unlimited alcohol.

I ended up drinking much more than I should have, and belting at the top of my lungs for most of the English songs we played. It was a blast, and really helped me feel more comfortable with singing in front my people with my terrible voice.

Sightseeing

I spent my next couple of days visiting parks and shrines in Kyoto. There are shops around the popular areas of Kyoto where you can rent traditional kimonos for a day, and walk around the city wearing them; I saw lots of people dressed up. The kimonos all have different patterns on them, and the women can also get their hair done with various braided hairstyles, adding to the overall effect.

I enjoyed tasting various street foods and mochi sweets. I had been good on my travels so far with eating somewhat healthy, but Japan was my downfall. All of the ramen, sushi, salty foods, and then large amounts of sweets was starting to take a toll on my body towards the end! I had gone a long time without eating anything fresh. I had also not used a fork in weeks, as only chopsticks are available in most restaurants.

There are many bamboo groves all around Japan, and I visited the most popular one in Kyoto. I enjoyed walking among these tall bamboo trees in serenity, despite the crowds.

I also visited the Kinkaku-ji temple, and here I was a bit overwhelmed by the hoards of people. Being pushed around and constantly waiting in line to take a picture was not my favorite, despite the beauty of the park.

I escaped in the evening to stroll alongside a little canal, called the Philosopher’s Path. Here cherry blossoms were in full bloom, which somewhat surprised me since it was already the middle of April. I can never tire from admiring cherry blossoms!

On my last day in Kyoto, I visited the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine, which is a series of red column gates on a mountain. At the entrance, you can walk through several red tunnels, and then if you want a bit more exercise, you can make your way up lots of flights of stairs through larger columns.

I saw on a map that you could follow these steps all the way to the summit of the mountain, and of course, I had to go. It was challenging and took me at least an hour but I was so impressed by just how many of these red gates there were, and every five minutes or so there were areas of prayer and smaller shrines.

Walking through these red gates in a forest was a truly unique experience, and I felt quite proud of myself at the summit once I finally arrived. On my way back down, I stopped by one of the tea houses along the way and enjoyed a bowl of udon soup with some forest views.

I had a lovely time in Japan, met lots of kind and interesting people, and was thankful that my friend Justin paid me a visit on my travels. I understand now the hype around Japan, and it truly is a magical place to visit!

-Anastasia