After making it out of Kyoto without the feeling of having seen to many Shrines or Temples I am starting to think that I liked it more than everything else I have seen in Japan so far. Even though it is a little bit more touristy and I did not have the most pleasant experience with a prepaid breakfast at the hotel (which is a whole other story) I really did enjoy my time in Kyoto.
The town is home to some of the biggest and oldest temples & shrines in Japan and has about 6 or 7 World Heritage Listed sites located within the city limits. I only managed to get to see 1 of these sites but I did get to see some of the biggest Temples in town along with some very small local temples and a few shrines that are out of the way.
It is a small sleepy village atmosphere in certain parts but then other parts of the city have that touristy mecha feel that the other parts of Japan i have experienced have had, however they seem to be able to control it more.
One thing I will recommend is a tour called “Walk in Kyoto, Talk in English” run by Johnny Hillwalker. He must be almost 80 years old and does the tour 2 days a week. It is a bargain at only 2000 yen but it is well worth it to see the side of Kyoto not many get to see. It is only about 4 or 5 hours and you don’t cover much ground overall but you do get to see some good things, like some of the home industries in Japan, some of the more traditional kyoto style treats like Inari Sushi (vegetarian sushi) and also the Japanese pastries which Kyoto are famous for.
One good thing came out of the tour and I have met up with an awesome girl by the name of Clare. A British girl who did the tour as well and we kinda spent the afternoon together randomly exploring Kyoto and now also going to meet up tommorrow night here in Osaka for some fugu!
The comparisons between Kyoto and Osaka though, MAJORLY different. I have gone from Big city to older smaller city, back to BIG CITY! Osaka is like bedlam to me right now. It puts me off a little when I am getting poked, prodded, pushed, pulled, stabbed and stood on in a foreign country and people just don’t seem to care. At least in Germany or France they actually apoligised however here, they just ignore me and treat me like crap, so I have given it back a little at times.
I did get to scope out Osaka castle today and the International Peace Museum as well before the rain destroyed the rest of my plans for the day but it was well worth it. I have decided to make the most of tommorrow my only other day in Osaka and cram in as much as I can hopefully in the morning before the rain hits. At least this time I am planning a bit better to coincide with opening times!
Current Location: Ritz Carlton Osaka