So last night i went by bus to Nagano, not even an hour from Hakuba, to catch the night bus to Kyoto. Didn't get much sleep, my tailbone was aching and i had to change how i was sitting every fifteen minutes and it was so freaking hot!! The japanese loves when it's so hot that it almost makes you feeling ill and you couldn't adjust the heat yourself.. And, as the icing on the cake, my next-seat-neighbor was half sleeping on my shoulder... I didn't feel like we knew each other enough for that kind of acts but apparently she thought something else. Oh well, time went by pretty fast after all and i arrived to Kyoto at 5.30am, bright and early! Took me about half an hour walk to figure out where the hostel was. Very nice hostel by the way, i haven't stayed in many but you sort of get your "own" room. It's kind of bunk beds but big ones with futons on them and a bit of spaces for your bag and then it's curtains all around.
Cozy eh?!
Anyways, i've had such a good day. Just been cycling around Kyoto all day looking at temples, shrines, geishas, people... It's so beautiful here, it really is and i wish that everyone that haven't been to Japan understood how much this country got. When i first went here i didn't really have any expectations because i did honestly not know a lot about the country but what a great surprise then.. Everything is so different, it's a bit like a fairyland.
The introduction of Japan in my Lonely Planet book says; "Japan a world apart - a wonderful little planet floating off the coast of China. It is kind of cultural Galapagos, a place where a unique civilization was allowed to grow and unfold on its own, unmolested by invading powers." It's true, it's like a another world over here! If you ever get the chance, go! It's going to be love at first sight...
Found a sushi-train restaurant for lunch, a bit different from the one in Omachi. Might be because the other one is a chain kind of a thing and this was more of a restaurant. The sushi-chefs were standing in the middle of the belt and we all sat round them. I really enjoyed it, beside me i had two older ladies, didn't speak a word of english but we were still laughing, isn't it funny how you can manage to communicate with just a couple of words here and there?! Tonight i went to a small, small okonomiyaki restaurant, not far from the hostel. Love the small, local restaurants!
I've been taking heaps, heaps and heaps of pictures today... Everything looks so pretty! Here's a few of them..
Three munks.
Some geishas.
Ballons.
My bike and my best friend for the day.
Sushi-train-yum!
A little lady i bought rice crackers from.
These colors makes me so happy!!
Off to bed now... I'm going to have the best sleep tonight! And hopefully i'm ready for another day of sightseeing tomorrow. Oyasumi nazai!
