We stopped at a typical Japanese freeway food/rest stop. Japan makes America's freeway rest stops look SUPER ghetto. It was amazing.
I wasn't too hungry so I got a little rice ball and this strange shrimp veggie thing. Turns out, much to Ms Mihoko's entertainment, it was something you typically dip in a bowl of udon soup. The broth from the soup softens the food, making it easier to separate into manageable bites.
....So since I was broth-less, it was a hoot to observers to see me trying to tear it into pieces with my unexperienced chopstick-holding hands.
When we got there, I stopped in a store and got 2 more postcards. There were 2 people I regretted not sending postcards to. Then we went to Kinkakuji! Each level of the pavilion uses architecture/designs from different historical periods. It was pretty crowded, I don't know how I got this photo.
On a different area of the grounds I found a door with flower paintings on it. I'm still debating if I'd do this or not.
I love how they are sculpting the trees and the branch flows!
Ha, found a guy wearing a headband that ROCKED. T-rex munching on someone's head. ha.
It wasn't just all the green that was amazing, it was the huge mix of textures. Man just LOOK at the variety of plant life right there.
We took a small road off and started checking out the kyoto farmland. It was GORGEOUS of course.
Ok so Kinkakuji was beautiful. No doubt about it. But too crowded for it to be one of my favorites. Arashiyama however....
The minute we got to the entrance of that bamboo forest, I was a goner. It's in my top 3 fav places in Kyoto. I wish I could go back and spend a whole day there. It was so peaceful. And honestly no photo can do that place justice. One of the things that makes it so beautiful is the movement of the leaves. I know it sounds cheesy but I started getting watery eyes, it was so beautiful. Wasn't expecting that ha ha!
Very surreal.
Sadly we had to leave the trail. We went into some sort of candy speciality shop, to look around. I spotted some mochi molds along the wall. Aren't those COOL?
Japan honestly has wax versions of every restaurant food it sells. I love it!
Tried some green tea warabimochi. Liked it.
Here's the wax version of what I got. Yes, served in real bamboo cups. I wanted to steal mine lol. It had the red bean paste (which I love now), ice cream, mochi, chestnut, warabimochi, and a cherry on top. It was SOOO GOOD! I'd suggest it to anyone.
Ms. Minori got the green tea shaved ice. She thought it was a bit strong, but still good.
The main street in Arashiyama is very very low key compared to the eastern side of that valley.
You almost don't notice the entrance to the bamboo trail!
We walked into an Umi shop. It sold all sorts of pickled plum stuff. They offered us so many samples! Most were really good, surprisingly.
Black Skin is a skin care shop. Ms Mihoko shops there. They did demos for us. The soap they have are made from charcoal. They were as soft as a soft chocolate if that makes sense. And they were amazing.
The arashiyama bamboo path goes back into those hills.
Saw these umbrellas. When hit by water, patterns get activated.
We all split up for a little bit, and I sprinted back to Tenryuuji Temple. I barely had time to go through it, but I couldn't help myself.
T'was gorgeous.
We drove past the imperial palace outer walls, so I got to see the wall....YAY!!!!
I got to come BACK! I loved knowing exactly where I was. I loved knowing something about where I was. It'd only been a month, but things were greener, leafier, and there were different flowers out! Hello again Higashiyama streeeeeet!
Hello again Kiyomizudera!!!!! It was 5:30, so it was only open for another half hour. On the plus side, it was a lot less crowded than when I went in the morning last time.
Man....the scaffolding for this is....interesting.
This was the first sunset I'd seen since I'd been in Japan. I've never had the time to figure out why there is no sunset over where I live. So when I saw this I just sat and looked. For a while.
And when I turned my head to the right of that sunset, I got a view of Japan's largest lake. I've forgotten the name already dang it.
Ok you see those 3 different types of faces? See the middle one with a big red circle nose? That is pretty much the equivalent of Micky Mouse out here. It's Umpanman". I don't know what company he's the face of, but he is EVERYWHERE. I've got students with his face plastered on their but like a butt flap. The placement is so weird. Anyways, Yup. there you go.
Dinner, provided by the generous Ms Minori and Ms Mihoko. I try everytime to pitch in or even take the whole thing, but Ms Mihoko is the QUEEN of making sure she gets to. Its frustrating sometimes.
I got to try dimsum. They're the delicious yellow circles on the right. Then a beef thing at the top, great too. Two differently seasoned Takoyaki (yum), and 4 Octopus skewers. Everything was GREAT!
Last but not least, a strange creepy story. At night there's a fluttering shadow outside of my window that flies in a pattern over the river and past my window. Like a bat. But in the morning, a big black crow has started to find a place to perch by the upper right corner of my window. He flaps and squawks a ton. It scares the crap out of me and makes me want to shut my window. How strange is that?
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