I was back on the Skinkansen again, this time to Kyoto.
The guide book I am using says that “this is the place to go”. There are 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Kyoto and its surrounds. It is also famous for its geishas. It is also famous for its railway station that was designed by Frank Wright
It was rather cold when I arrived and I made my way to the hostel.
It was disproportionately full of westerns – English, French and Germans along with some Australians – “seeing a bit of culture after skiing and snowboarding”.
After dinner in nearby restaurant, I ended up in long conversation with an English girl who in her final year of a business degree at the University of Newcastle in the north east of England. She was doing a term at a university in Shanghai. She had lots of opinions on Newcastle (favourable) the UK Government (unfavourable) and other subjects.
Nara
Next day I headed off to Nara. I was the first permanent capital of Japan. Put that in your trivia file. It is famous for its deer park and the Diabutsu – great Duddha. He is one seriously big chap.
Check out the Flickr link.
Looking for a Geshia
It the evening I headed off for the Gion district which is famous for its Geshias. One of the staff in the hostel told me where I should walk with a chance of seeing a Geshia walk from where she lived to one of the clubs where they work.
My route is recorded on the Garmin. I can report that I wasn’t lucky that night.
Gion is an area where there are a lot of trendy restaurants and bars. Some have ‘bouncer’ types outside suggest to some passerby’s that they enter. The fact that I have grey hair and sensible shoes seemed to put me into the ‘invisible’ category and none of them suggested that I come into their club.
I ended back at the hostel at a reasonable hour and had another conversation with the English girl from Newcastle Uni. She seemed to be using me as way of not talking to a Turkish bloke who was trying to chat her up.
Back to See the Gardens
I will have to go back to Kyoto in spring or autumn. I am sure the gardens are sensation at those times of the year.
Flickr Link
Garmin Links
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