京都 - Kyoto

Wow. Where do I begin? Since I last posted, my Mum has come and gone, I have ridden the Shinkansen ('Bullet Train') across Japan and I have seen Kyoto, Hiroshima and Miyajima. Well, let's do things in chronological order, shall we?

So, my Mum came to visit me in Nagasaki. I went to meet her at Nagasaki airport (the runway of which stretches out into Ōmura Bay) on Sunday 3rd February. We then spent the next six days in Nagasaki shopping, eating, sightseeing and socialising with some of my friends here. Her and May got on really well and everyone I introduced her to loved her. I took her to the hospital to meet some of the people I work with and about 75% tried to speak in English for her sake, even though only about 25% actually speak in English. There was a bit of laughing about the lack of a common language but that made everyone smile that little bit more to compensate.

It was nice showing my Mother my home turf here in Japan, but we had previously decided that we would travel a bit together too. On Sunday 10th February we woke up bright and early, said sayonara ('goodbye') to May and headed for Nagasaki Station. We got on a train to Fukuoka/Hakata (which took 2 hours) and there hopped onto an Hikari Shinkansen bound for Tokyo. We got off at Shin-Ōsaka Station and changed for a Shinkansen going through Kyoto. In a total of five hours travelling time we had travelled 854km, and the first 174 took two hours on the regular train. It was very impressive but a little weird travelling on the Shinkansen. If you imagine a film clip taken from a moving train and then imagine speeding it up and watching it in fast-forward, that was what it was like. Anyway, here's the Shinkansen we caught Hakata to Ōsaka:
After navigating Kyoto Station (which is the train station equivalent of a mystical labyrinth by the way) I managed to book us two nights in a traditional Japanese Ryokan (Inn).

It was a lovely little hotel. It was quite expensive but there was no arguing that we were travelling the Japanese way now. Plus, a large and delicious breakfast was thrown in. Can't argue with that. Aaaand do you see that table in the second photo... well, it has a heater built into it. You slide your legs under and it keeps your feet toasty while you enjoy a cup of ocha (tea) and an okashi (cake). Bliss.

The following day I headed out to Fushimi-Inari Taisha, a Shinto shrine in the South-east outskirts of Kyoto. Although many of you might not recognise the name, some of you might recognise the place:


The shrine is dedicated to the Gods of rice and sake (Japanese rice wine) and is the main Inari shrine out of the 30,000 dotted across Japan. Needless to say, it is very popular with tourists and when I arrived there at around 10:30am it was packed. Even so, the beauty of this famous shrine was undeniable. The torii-lined pathway extends 4km up the mountain, Inari-yama. I didn't walk the entire 4km. As much as I was enjoying the stroll under the torii, the prospect of an 8km trek in the middle of February didn't appeal. Besides, I would be leaving Kyoto the next day and I still had some more sightseeing to do.

Next I went to Gion, the traditional entertainment district of Kyoto. It was here that I stood my best chance of seeing a real-life Geisha, as they still wander the streets here on their way to and from appointments. In a stroke of pure luck, I stumbled upon a Geisha posing for some photographers after being in Gion for only five minutes. Jackpot:
I stopped on the walk back to the Ryokan at the Kamo river. It was turning into a beautiful evening and what with the distant mountains and the river birds and the buildings of Kyoto on all sides of me, I decided to sit on the bank for a while and read some of my book.

After another night in the Ryokan, Mum and I went back to Kyoto Station. There we said goodbye. She got on a Shinkansen for Tokyo and I got on a local train to Shin-Ōsaka, and from there took a Shinkansen to Hiroshima. Mum is flying back to England from Tokyo Narita Airport today. I have been in Hiroshima for the past three days so I don't know what she got up to in Tokyo, but if her time in Nagasaki is anything to go by, it probably involved a lot of shopping :-)

Stay tuned for the next instalment, where Lily Goes To Hiroshima.