While food was undoubtedly the focus of our days in Japan, we did have several other hours of the day where we had to do something to work up an appetite. So below is a quick overview of activities that we ended up doing in Tokyo and Kyoto:
Tokyo
Tokyo reminds me very much like Taipei, but with more people. The city is much larger than you may think, and it is built up of many different neighborhoods and districts. I suppose I was anticipating something more similar to Hong Kong, but it is not nearly as compact and dense a city. With that said, it really is much like any other big city. It has its unique culture, especially with the Akihabara maid cafes and gothic Harajuku girls, but not so much to the caricature that we see here in the Western world. There may indeed be crazy and weird Japanese people, but it doesn’t seem like it is any more so than in other cultures. It may just actually be more acceptable in Japan.
There aren’t really many sights in Tokyo to take in, so it really is just shopping, walking around, and eating. Tsujiki is one of the main draws, but for many Asians who are familiar with seeing seafood markets, it’s nothing that has to be a must-see. It’s probably larger than any fish market I’ve seen, but the contents are not so different.
Kyoto
Kyoto is very much like an European city: lots of history with the culture and architecture, but at the same time, modern and comfortable. It is a beautiful city in this respect, as there are old sections of town that keep the traditional Japanese feel, with Japanese gardens and temples that offer peaceful and stunning views. Kyoto is probably best experienced walking around aimlessly (as it is known as the walking city), particularly in the Higashiyama area. You can catch glimpses of geishas while strolling the old streets, while also stopping for those super-sweet Kyoto desserts and maybe a cone of green tea ice cream. Ew and I spent a day just wandering around that area, and actually spent one night in Ryokan Motonago in Southern Higashiyama. Ryokans are traditional Japanese inns, where rooms are defined by how many tatami mats cover the floor. The room serves as a place to sit and eat, and then the futon beds are made up for sleeping. Ew and I had our kaiseki meal here, as we were dressed in our yakutas and had, I believe, thirteen courses brought to our room. Each course was presented in its own particular lacquerware and arranged on our “eating tray.” The meal was focused on fish and vegetables, and while ew couldn’t quite handle all of that fish, it was quite the experience. Combine the feel of the inn with a traditional dinner, followed by a bath onsen-style, and you end up having one of the most memorable evenings in any hotel.
The rest of our time in Kyoto was spend mostly on the outskirts of the city, in Arashiyama and Kurama. We went to Arashiyama to see the bamboo forest, and while very peaceful and pleasant, I’m not sure if it’s as must-do as Lonely Planet makes it out to be. The trip out there only takes about half an hour to forty-five minutes though, and there is a very nice garden at the temple next to the bamboo forest. In Kurama, we made the journey to see the fire festival and to also go to the onsen. I think if there’s one thing that the Japanese have contributed to this world, it’s the beauty of bathing. With the minerals in the hot springs, the peaceful gardens and environs of the outdoors, and the wooden stools for the sit-down showers, I can’t think of a better way to relax away an afternoon. Ew definitely disagrees with me here, as she always claims she doesn’t know what she’s supposed to be doing, but that’s the point, it’s supposed to be a time to do nothing. However, because it was the day of the fire festival, the onsen was particularly crowded, which did make it much less relaxing. With respect to the fire festival, I think what I’ve learned is that festivals are pretty much the same wherever you go. If you’re interested in seeing something culturally from an outsider perspective that you may not truly understand, then they’re worth the effort; otherwise, it’s very similar to watching something like the Disneyland parade.
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