Let's start out with a few fun facts about Megan that not everyone knows. First off I have a history with Japan although this was my first time actually traveling there. My Mother was born in Okinawa and my family lived there for some time in the 1950's. Growing up we often had Japanese exchange students stay with us. They would leave gifts and magazines. I have one particular memory of a Japanese fashion magazine that I would spend hours looking over and imagining outfits in my head. When I was in third grade my mother enrolled me in Japanese classes. She was convinced that Japan would become what China is now to the world. This also led to a round of "head, shoulders, knees and toes" where I lost most of my front tooth which to this day is actually a fake. I also have loved sushi since I could eat solid foods, and by the age of 3 would sit at the sushi bar with my mom happily consuming anything put in front of me (often from other patrons who were just amazed that this small child voluntarily ate raw fish). I have always dreamt of a trip to Japan, and although it's rather obscure, have always felt a connection to the culture. A cheap, direct flight to Osaka from Seoul, combined with virtual tour guides (as I have friends who have lived/ traveled there in recent years) made this trip just fall into place. And of course when I found out about the whale shark... well that just sealed the deal!
I arrived on a Saturday in the evening and had 3 full days to explore. I took a bus to Kyoto and arrived at my hotel with a pretty high fever that night. I had opted to stay in a "capsule hotel" which was originally created for business men and literally just enough room to crawl into and sleep, kinda like a coffin. Sounds appealing right?! Now some have been modified for tourists and the one I stayed in had it's own television, universal adapter and plenty of room to sit up and move around. This was about half the price of the cheapest hotel I could find. It had a big cozy blanket and a door that closes shut so it's somewhere between a hostel and hotel setting. I slept wonderfully both nights and the third opted to upgrade to my own private room since I was under budget. The first morning I was still quite sick but got up and found myself some udon noodles, yummm. Then promptly took a bus to Kinkakuji, more commonly known as "The Golden Temple." It appears to be sitting on water and is as beautiful in real life as the photos suggest. It was peaceful and I even saw a few cranes among the rocks on the pond. From there I walked a short distance to Ryoanji, a very famous zen rock garden and temple. Walking around the grounds here was beautiful as well. To end my day in the northern part of Kyoto I took the train to Arashiyama, a well known historic area situated on the edge of the city next to the mountains. As soon as I stepped off the train I immediately followed one of my golden rules for travel: if you see locals waiting in line for any kind of food it must be good. This happened to be a delicious spongy cake and mine had white chocolate in it. I wandered around, went to a few gardens and temples, bought a few presents and souvenirs and made my way back to the hotel. Still not well and wanting to pace myself I relaxed for about an hour then headed over to Kyoto station to enjoy a dinner of sushi and the best shrimp tempura I have ever had. Again selecting the restaurant by where the locals were lined up in wait.
The next morning I felt a bit better and decided to make my way to the southern part of Kyoto. First stop was the Fushimi Inari Shrine. You walk through a bright orange maze of tunnels and the grounds are littered with large and small buildings in the same color pallet. It's beautiful. It was very touristy so it took some patience, but I managed to get the photos I wanted. As I left I decided to try "octopus balls" for the first time. These are fried up dough balls with cooked octopus inside and a very common street food in the area. It must be only brave tourists who try these because as I sat down to enjoy them an old woman flashed an approving smile and nod my way. It was only about noon and I was already on the same train line that runs to Nara. A small city about 50 min from Kyoto with lots of history and white spotted deer you can feed by hand. I decided to go for it even though that same day my plan had been to hit up Kiyomizudera temple as well. This proved to be a good decision as while I was on the train the weather turned a bit stormy and Kiyomizudera is at the top of a hill. I arrived in Nara and was surprised that it was a bigger city than I expected. A very friendly tourist information guide explained to me how to use the bus system and off I went. I would also like to mention how many friendly, helpful, and kind Japanese people I met on this trip. Even a few Koreans too! I walked around Nara Park, fed the deer, and went to see the HUGE Buddha that is housed in an amazing shrine of a temple. Towards the end of the afternoon I made my way back to Kyoto. I was determined to make it to Kiyomizudera as I was leaving for Osaka the next day. Well I did make it, but just barely. Literally running up the hill coughing my lungs out, I got to the top just in time for sunset but was not allowed entrance into the actual temple as it was closing time. Happy to see the sunset, but feeling a bit defeated for missing out on the rest of the grounds, I headed back to my hotel. That evening is when switched over to a private room from my cozy little capsule. Let's talk about the bathrooms for a second. When you walk into the toilet room the light automatically switches on and the toilet seat pops up. Not only are the seats heated but there are digital buttons for everything you could need from a bidet to a "hip wash" with a little drawing of a bum. The shower in the shared portion of the hotel was just like a regular bathroom where you lock the door and take your shower. However, in the private rooms the shower is something like a cross between a spray tanning booth and time machine. It's literally a complete standing capsule with a rain and side spray function (be sure to close the capsule door before using!). The best way to sum up the bathrooms is that they are just really cool.
On my last day I resigned to head back up to Kiyomizudera early in the morning after checking out of the hotel, and then on to Osaka to visit my whale shark friend. I made it up to the temple early enough that there were very few tourists and it was so beautiful overlooking the city! I am not sure if it is always open, but there is a graveyard on the side of the hill. I wandered down through it all alone which is not something I usually make a habit of, but I had seen other graveyards and was intrigued by how different they looked. While walking around I was acutely aware of the fact that it felt peaceful and beautiful and in no way eerie. Like most things in Japan the headstones are side by side and are all very close together. It made me think of my Grandpa who used to say we should be buried vertically because it would save a lot of space.
The train ride to Osaka was about an hour. I had all my stuff with me which was just a duffle bag and purse, but still lots to carry while touring around town. Luckily the aquarium had lockers. If you have me on facebook you are probably painfully aware by now of the level of obsession I have for sharks, and if you know me well already then that is just old news. When I entered the area with the whale shark I just about lost my mind. No one told me they had adult hammerheads in the same tank?!! (which are my very favorite species of shark) Trying to contain my excitement but standing in awe like a giddy child I spent more time circling that tank than I care to admit. Let's just say I kept thinking "Megan, you have a plane to catch you need to leave now..." Then 20 more minutes would go by, then 30, and so on. On my way out I purchased the souvenir professional photo AND the largest stuffed whale shark in the gift shop. To say that this experience fed my obsession might be a slight understatement. My shark came in handy as a pillow on the plane ride home. I made it back that night to Seoul with a slight delay due to stormy conditions in Osaka. Everything went smoothly and I really didn't want to leave. Upon return home I was happy to see my friends but I had just enough time in Japan to fall in love a little, and it left me wanting more.
Let's start out with a few fun facts about Megan that not everyone knows. First off I have a history with Japan although this was my first time actually traveling there. My Mother was born in Okinawa and my family lived there for some time in the 1950's. Growing up we often had Japanese exchange students stay with us. They would leave gifts and magazines. I have one particular memory of a Japanese fashion magazine that I would spend hours looking over and imagining outfits in my head. When I was in third grade my mother enrolled me in Japanese classes. She was convinced that Japan would become what China is now to the world. This also led to a round of "head, shoulders, knees and toes" where I lost most of my front tooth which to this day is actually a fake. I also have loved sushi since I could eat solid foods, and by the age of 3 would sit at the sushi bar with my mom happily consuming anything put in front of me (often from other patrons who were just amazed that this small child voluntarily ate raw fish). I have always dreamt of a trip to Japan, and although it's rather obscure, have always felt a connection to the culture. A cheap, direct flight to Osaka from Seoul, combined with virtual tour guides (as I have friends who have lived/ traveled there in recent years) made this trip just fall into place. And of course when I found out about the whale shark... well that just sealed the deal!
I arrived on a Saturday in the evening and had 3 full days to explore. I took a bus to Kyoto and arrived at my hotel with a pretty high fever that night. I had opted to stay in a "capsule hotel" which was originally created for business men and literally just enough room to crawl into and sleep, kinda like a coffin. Sounds appealing right?! Now some have been modified for tourists and the one I stayed in had it's own television, universal adapter and plenty of room to sit up and move around. This was about half the price of the cheapest hotel I could find. It had a big cozy blanket and a door that closes shut so it's somewhere between a hostel and hotel setting. I slept wonderfully both nights and the third opted to upgrade to my own private room since I was under budget. The first morning I was still quite sick but got up and found myself some udon noodles, yummm. Then promptly took a bus to Kinkakuji, more commonly known as "The Golden Temple." It appears to be sitting on water and is as beautiful in real life as the photos suggest. It was peaceful and I even saw a few cranes among the rocks on the pond. From there I walked a short distance to Ryoanji, a very famous zen rock garden and temple. Walking around the grounds here was beautiful as well. To end my day in the northern part of Kyoto I took the train to Arashiyama, a well known historic area situated on the edge of the city next to the mountains. As soon as I stepped off the train I immediately followed one of my golden rules for travel: if you see locals waiting in line for any kind of food it must be good. This happened to be a delicious spongy cake and mine had white chocolate in it. I wandered around, went to a few gardens and temples, bought a few presents and souvenirs and made my way back to the hotel. Still not well and wanting to pace myself I relaxed for about an hour then headed over to Kyoto station to enjoy a dinner of sushi and the best shrimp tempura I have ever had. Again selecting the restaurant by where the locals were lined up in wait.
The next morning I felt a bit better and decided to make my way to the southern part of Kyoto. First stop was the Fushimi Inari Shrine. You walk through a bright orange maze of tunnels and the grounds are littered with large and small buildings in the same color pallet. It's beautiful. It was very touristy so it took some patience, but I managed to get the photos I wanted. As I left I decided to try "octopus balls" for the first time. These are fried up dough balls with cooked octopus inside and a very common street food in the area. It must be only brave tourists who try these because as I sat down to enjoy them an old woman flashed an approving smile and nod my way. It was only about noon and I was already on the same train line that runs to Nara. A small city about 50 min from Kyoto with lots of history and white spotted deer you can feed by hand. I decided to go for it even though that same day my plan had been to hit up Kiyomizudera temple as well. This proved to be a good decision as while I was on the train the weather turned a bit stormy and Kiyomizudera is at the top of a hill. I arrived in Nara and was surprised that it was a bigger city than I expected. A very friendly tourist information guide explained to me how to use the bus system and off I went. I would also like to mention how many friendly, helpful, and kind Japanese people I met on this trip. Even a few Koreans too! I walked around Nara Park, fed the deer, and went to see the HUGE Buddha that is housed in an amazing shrine of a temple. Towards the end of the afternoon I made my way back to Kyoto. I was determined to make it to Kiyomizudera as I was leaving for Osaka the next day. Well I did make it, but just barely. Literally running up the hill coughing my lungs out, I got to the top just in time for sunset but was not allowed entrance into the actual temple as it was closing time. Happy to see the sunset, but feeling a bit defeated for missing out on the rest of the grounds, I headed back to my hotel. That evening is when switched over to a private room from my cozy little capsule. Let's talk about the bathrooms for a second. When you walk into the toilet room the light automatically switches on and the toilet seat pops up. Not only are the seats heated but there are digital buttons for everything you could need from a bidet to a "hip wash" with a little drawing of a bum. The shower in the shared portion of the hotel was just like a regular bathroom where you lock the door and take your shower. However, in the private rooms the shower is something like a cross between a spray tanning booth and time machine. It's literally a complete standing capsule with a rain and side spray function (be sure to close the capsule door before using!). The best way to sum up the bathrooms is that they are just really cool.
On my last day I resigned to head back up to Kiyomizudera early in the morning after checking out of the hotel, and then on to Osaka to visit my whale shark friend. I made it up to the temple early enough that there were very few tourists and it was so beautiful overlooking the city! I am not sure if it is always open, but there is a graveyard on the side of the hill. I wandered down through it all alone which is not something I usually make a habit of, but I had seen other graveyards and was intrigued by how different they looked. While walking around I was acutely aware of the fact that it felt peaceful and beautiful and in no way eerie. Like most things in Japan the headstones are side by side and are all very close together. It made me think of my Grandpa who used to say we should be buried vertically because it would save a lot of space.
The train ride to Osaka was about an hour. I had all my stuff with me which was just a duffle bag and purse, but still lots to carry while touring around town. Luckily the aquarium had lockers. If you have me on facebook you are probably painfully aware by now of the level of obsession I have for sharks, and if you know me well already then that is just old news. When I entered the area with the whale shark I just about lost my mind. No one told me they had adult hammerheads in the same tank?!! (which are my very favorite species of shark) Trying to contain my excitement but standing in awe like a giddy child I spent more time circling that tank than I care to admit. Let's just say I kept thinking "Megan, you have a plane to catch you need to leave now..." Then 20 more minutes would go by, then 30, and so on. On my way out I purchased the souvenir professional photo AND the largest stuffed whale shark in the gift shop. To say that this experience fed my obsession might be a slight understatement. My shark came in handy as a pillow on the plane ride home. I made it back that night to Seoul with a slight delay due to stormy conditions in Osaka. Everything went smoothly and I really didn't want to leave. Upon return home I was happy to see my friends but I had just enough time in Japan to fall in love a little, and it left me wanting more.
