Travelling in Japan with my Mum and Aunt!

For the last week I have been traveling around Japan with my Mum and aunt. We had a lovely trip and they were surprised at how good the Shinkansen was.
On the first day we went to Kyoto, when we arrived we went for a walk around Gion area trying different foods from the shops and stalls. I really liked the grilled mochi with the sticky soy sauce but it is very different to Irish food and my aunt didn't like the texture.

Then we walked to Yasaka Shrine and through Maruyama Park and the weather was beautiful so we enjoyed walking around. We followed the park to Chionin Temple and walked around it. I thought that Kyoto was very easy to navigate around. The temple was very interesting and I really liked the 'Nightingale Floorboards' that squeak so the Shogun could know if intruders were coming.

After the temple we went to a Tea house called En and we learned about Tea Ceremony and got to make to make green tea. I thought it was very interesting and such a relaxing process and I hope to be able to join Tea Ceremony lessons in Gotemba. Below is a photo of some of the utensils used in tea ceremony.

On the second day we went to Nijo-jo which was such a beautiful castle and the paintings on the screen doors inside were spectacular but we couldn't photograph them. The grounds were amazing as well, I really liked the landscape garden and the views from the top were stunning.

Later that day we had booked a tour of the Imperial Palace and it was very interesting to listen to the guide explain about the architecture and the history of the buildings. I liked the striking colours of the corridors in this newer part and learned that this colour is used in Japan to ward off evil spirits.

The roofs were made of strips of ceder bark layered on top of each other which is used because its water resistant and keeps the buildings cool in summer. The grounds around the Palace were beautiful and so vast, I was also excited to see some Sakura out already.

That evening we went to Gion Corner and we watched Geisha performances, music and plays. It was very interesting and enjoyable to see so many aspects of Japanese culture.

I really liked the Kyogen (Ancient Comic Play), it was really funny and the actors were brilliant.

On the third day we went to Kinkakuji which was very beautiful reflecting in the lake and the park was peaceful to walk around.

Afterwards, we went to Fushimi Inari Shrine which is somewhere I have wanted to visit for a while. It was very dizzying to walk around but I really liked the affect.

The next morning we headed off to Osaka but it rained all day so it made it hard to get around. This meant that we only went to the Umeda Sky Building and then found an Italian Izakaya which served the most delicious food.

Mom's Visit-Day 8-9

On days 8 and 9, my mother and I stayed in Osaka. On day 8, we went to Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. It was pretty cool. There is like this massive tank in the middle, and you keep walking around it on different floors in the building. It got a little boring after a while though. After this, we decided to make our way to Osaka Museum of History. I thought it was especially good because there are a lot of exhibits, and it is very visual, which is good for foreigners. The next day was quite chill. We went shopping. However, it was very hectic due to Golden Week, so we quickly left and sat at a Starbucks for a while drinking coffee. The afternoon of day 9, we made our way to Hiroshima.

Osaka Aquarium

Osaka Museum of History

View of Osaka Castle from Osaka Museum of history

Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka

For Silver Week, I went to Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka with two other ALTs. It was really excited to learn about the history and culture of Japan.

Day 1: Kyoto

On the first day, we visited the Imperial Palace, but it ended up being closed due to the holiday. Then, we went to the Philosopher's Walk, which is a trail that follows a canal. Many shrines and temples line this walk. We visited Ginkaku-ji, Honen-ji, Eikan-do, and Nanzen-ji. Also, along the way, we found a high school that was having a school festival. We wondered through the school and found the English club. I can't believe how big school festivals are. There were so many people there. After this, we went to Heian-jingu. I really liked it here even though there were many people. The bright colors of the buildings were beautiful, and there was also an amazing garden.

Day 2: Kyoto

The next day, we visited Kinkaku-ji. I really didn't like this temple because I thought it was gaudy and there were way too many people there for it to be enjoyable. After this, we went to Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine and then Nijo-jo. Nijo Castle was really cool. The floor squeaks when you walk on it, so it warns for invaders. In the afternoon, we went to Gion. There was a really nice park there called Maruyama. We got to take pictures of Geisha too. As the sun was setting, I got some really good pictures of Kyoto and Yasaka Pagoda. There was also a massive Buddha there called Ryozen Kannon, which commemorated those who died in WWII.

Day 3: Fushimi Inari and Nara

On day three, we took a train to Fushimi Inari-taisha. This shrine has thousands and thousands of torii. It seemed like a massive maze. After this, we went to Nara. The deer in Nara smell terrible, are really dirty, and look unhealthy. I was disappointed because I was looking forward to seeing the deer. Todai-ji Temple is amazing though. It's huge. It's really hard to describe other than it's absolutely massive.

Day 4-5

We spent day four and five in Osaka. We mostly spent our time here shopping, and we met up with some other ALTs. We went to a restaurant though, and we ordered Okonomiyaki. It was my first time eating it. Eating was really fun because we got to cook it ourselves. I'm pretty sure the waiter thought we were crazy because we kept mixing everything up instead of leaving it in a patty. He kept coming over and started helping us cook it....haha. On day five, we visited Osaka Castle. I was kind of disappointed though because it was more like a museum than a castle. Much of the castle had been burned in the past, so what we saw was almost entirely restoration work. The interior was very modern. The view of Osaka from the top of the castle was amazing though.

Ryozen Kannon in Kyoto

A Geisha in Gion

Fushimi Inari-taisha

A Little Girl at Fushimi Inari-taisha

At Todai-ji Temple in Nara

A Little Boy at Osaka Castle