April 6, 2015
1st day
おはようございます、日本！
This was the first words I heard when I woke up. Such lovely words to start the day. Aaahhh..first day in Japan. It felt so surreal to be waking up in another country. My mom woke up as well and we made our bed. I ordered breakfast for 1day just to try their おにぎり(onigiri). It was okay, but I didn't really like the filling. I also asked if I can have another cup of tea because mine got cold already. My mom just had her usual coffee and skyflakes. Afterwards, we took our baths and got ready to explore Kyoto!
I saw my first sakura aboard the bus going to Arashiyama. So pink! *Kilig*
1st day
おはようございます、日本！
"Your breakfast is ready!"
 |
| here's my geisha socks ready to accompany me for our first day of adventure! :) |
I saw my first sakura aboard the bus going to Arashiyama. So pink! *Kilig*
Let me tell you I almost scratched Arashiyama out from our itinerary but since it's just one bus ride away from the guesthouse, I decided to visit it on our first day. And boy! Was it a sight to behold! I would've kicked my own ass if I wasn't able to see the pink dotted mountain and the row of sakura trees along the riverside. This was where I first witnessed a very wonderful and magical scene - the sight of falling sakura petals!!! The weather was around 15C and I cursed everytime the wind blew, but then being rewarded with that sight was totally worth it!
We then ate lunch at one of the line of restos just near Togetsu-kyo Bridge. I had Katsudon while Mame had Ebi Tempura.
We shared the table with a very nice elderly Japanese couple. The おばあさん (Obaasan - elderly lady) suddenly asked 何処からですか？(Doko kara desu ka? meaning Where are you from?) I was caught off guard and took me a few seconds to be able to translate and understand her question and to properly construct my answer in Japanese and when I was about to answer, she repeated her question in english in which I answered, also in english. I was so thrilled at the thought that I almost had a conversation (or at least what I can call a short exchange) in Nihongo. Our orders arrived by then and we ate silently until we finished our meal. I observed how people get up and go to the counter and pay for their meal there, so I stood up and paid as others did. As the saying goes, 'Do as the Romans do'. This is I believe one way of enjoying and getting the most out of your travel especially if you want to immerse yourself in the culture of the country you are currently in.
It started to rain as we walk towards Tenryu-ji. This is a zen temple. We paid and explored the interconnected halls from the inside and admired the garden and the awesome mountain view. We sat by the veranda in front of Daihojo and I imagined the Emperor enjoying his tea overlooking the beautiful scenery of the pink dotted mountain covered partly by clouds and the big pond that mirrors it. Ahh..truly relaxing. I guess it wasn't called a zen temple for no reason. (duh!)
We took our shoes from the shelf and explored the gardens this time. We found different types and colors of sakura here - white and different shades of pink! Took a lot of photos, of course. I can stay there the whole day, but we had to move on and explore other areas as well.
The path to the bamboo grove was right outside the exit and even though it was a rainy Monday, there were a lot of people so I wasn't able to take a nice photo of it. We walked until the end of the path and found Okochi Sanso villa. I decided to leave it for my next visit since it's raining and I won't be able to enjoy the view from there. Also, the entrance was 1,000 yen (with free tea) and my mom wasn't that interested as well. Instead of continuing to walk to Jojakko-ji temple, we turned back to find a public toilet. We found Nonomiya Shrine and asked for directions from one of the rickshaw drivers. We walked to the nearby park to use the public toilet and went back to Nonomiya Shrine. There's no entrance fee here. We paid for ema (wood plaques) where we wrote our prayers/wishes and hanged it along with the others. This shrine is special for me because I offered a prayer to the deity here. It was a pretty cool experience.
We found our way back to the line of small and cute shops where we got off the bus. Mame went inside one of the shops and bought souvenirs for her amigas and some for my sisters as well, while I almost had my nose fall off while licking on my sakura-green tea ice cream outside waiting for her. It was so yummy! I would've bought another one if only the temperature was cooperating. By this time, it went down to around 12C so I decided to go inside the shop and bought a cute pink coin purse with a sheep design. This was where I put all my coins (yen) and used it the whole time I was in Japan. I checked other shops as well where I bought some bookmarks, memo pads/stick on notes, etc.
We got on the bus going back to the guesthouse and got lost because my stupid self forgot to take note of any landmark to help me remember which street our guesthouse was on. My poor tired mom almost got mad at me because her feet was already aching. Aww.
We rested for a bit and finally decided to head back out to find a restaurant where we can have dinner. Thankfully there was a ramen house called Menbakaichidai just around the corner. I guess people come here for the fire ramen. We can only sit at the counter if both me and my mom are going to order fire ramen, but she wanted rice and chicken. It was my first authentic ramen so I had to order gyoza as well. My mom ordered rice and karaage (fried chicken). Everything was soo good except the gyoza. Hahaha! This was my first gyoza and I didn't know what to expect but I didn't like it much. I haven't had a chance to try gyoza again when I was in Japan and even when I got back in the Philippines so I still don't know what the fuss is about with gyoza. I guess I should try it at least once here before I go back to Japan again. Anyway, we took photos with the chef before heading back to the guesthouse.
That concludes our first day in Japan. :)
 |
| Togetsu-kyo bridge in Arashiyama |
We then ate lunch at one of the line of restos just near Togetsu-kyo Bridge. I had Katsudon while Mame had Ebi Tempura.
It started to rain as we walk towards Tenryu-ji. This is a zen temple. We paid and explored the interconnected halls from the inside and admired the garden and the awesome mountain view. We sat by the veranda in front of Daihojo and I imagined the Emperor enjoying his tea overlooking the beautiful scenery of the pink dotted mountain covered partly by clouds and the big pond that mirrors it. Ahh..truly relaxing. I guess it wasn't called a zen temple for no reason. (duh!)
We took our shoes from the shelf and explored the gardens this time. We found different types and colors of sakura here - white and different shades of pink! Took a lot of photos, of course. I can stay there the whole day, but we had to move on and explore other areas as well.
The path to the bamboo grove was right outside the exit and even though it was a rainy Monday, there were a lot of people so I wasn't able to take a nice photo of it. We walked until the end of the path and found Okochi Sanso villa. I decided to leave it for my next visit since it's raining and I won't be able to enjoy the view from there. Also, the entrance was 1,000 yen (with free tea) and my mom wasn't that interested as well. Instead of continuing to walk to Jojakko-ji temple, we turned back to find a public toilet. We found Nonomiya Shrine and asked for directions from one of the rickshaw drivers. We walked to the nearby park to use the public toilet and went back to Nonomiya Shrine. There's no entrance fee here. We paid for ema (wood plaques) where we wrote our prayers/wishes and hanged it along with the others. This shrine is special for me because I offered a prayer to the deity here. It was a pretty cool experience.
We found our way back to the line of small and cute shops where we got off the bus. Mame went inside one of the shops and bought souvenirs for her amigas and some for my sisters as well, while I almost had my nose fall off while licking on my sakura-green tea ice cream outside waiting for her. It was so yummy! I would've bought another one if only the temperature was cooperating. By this time, it went down to around 12C so I decided to go inside the shop and bought a cute pink coin purse with a sheep design. This was where I put all my coins (yen) and used it the whole time I was in Japan. I checked other shops as well where I bought some bookmarks, memo pads/stick on notes, etc.
We got on the bus going back to the guesthouse and got lost because my stupid self forgot to take note of any landmark to help me remember which street our guesthouse was on. My poor tired mom almost got mad at me because her feet was already aching. Aww.
We rested for a bit and finally decided to head back out to find a restaurant where we can have dinner. Thankfully there was a ramen house called Menbakaichidai just around the corner. I guess people come here for the fire ramen. We can only sit at the counter if both me and my mom are going to order fire ramen, but she wanted rice and chicken. It was my first authentic ramen so I had to order gyoza as well. My mom ordered rice and karaage (fried chicken). Everything was soo good except the gyoza. Hahaha! This was my first gyoza and I didn't know what to expect but I didn't like it much. I haven't had a chance to try gyoza again when I was in Japan and even when I got back in the Philippines so I still don't know what the fuss is about with gyoza. I guess I should try it at least once here before I go back to Japan again. Anyway, we took photos with the chef before heading back to the guesthouse.
That concludes our first day in Japan. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment