Arashiyama and Fushimi

Today we took our sweet time to leave since we had a lot of laundry to wash. We used the coin operated washing machine here at our hostel. It's so nice that you can wash your clothes here so you don't have to bring a ton of clothes with you or optionally buy them here. After washing we went and ate before taking the next train towards the Saga-Arashiyama station and from there we walked to the Tenryu-ji temple to see the temple buildings and gardens.
   I've always loved that place because of it garden and surrounding mountain.
The Cherry trees were amazing and I was so sad that my battery died, AGAIN, before I had time to take any good pictures. Luckily my girlfriend has her camera!
We walked around and moved next to the entrance to the Bamboo groove just near by the temple.  It was a long path with tall bamboo trees on each side. It was really pleasant to walk along it even tough there were quite a lot of people there.
   As we were ready with our pleasant stroll, we returned to the train station and went back to the central railway station and ate some curry udon that, unnecessary to say, was delicious.

We continued by train from there to Fushimi and from there on we walked to the Fushimi Inari Taisha. It is famous for its many Torii gates lining up to the mountain and around it.
We got to enjoy it during the evening. It was so mystical and beautiful when it was lit up!
We walked up, around and down the mountain and we were beat when we returned back to the hostel. *phew it was a fun climb but the only sad part was that my girlfriend tripped and broke a lens on her camera. But we got many good photos!
If you ever have the chance, do visit it during the dark hours as well, since it's open 24h this is possible. I highly recommend!

Cheers
Robert

Biking in Kyoto

Today we went Biking in Kyoto. We rented bikes from our hostel and made our way towards Nijo castle. It was really nice now during the cherry blossom season. The gardens were very nice and the girls also liked them.

We walked around the main building and then the garden. I liked that they had some stalls, selling various thing, at the temple grounds. I especially liked that I got to have some sake and plumb wine tastings at one of the stalls. It was good and I ended up buying one bottle of Umeshu or plumb wine.

From there we biked to Kinkakuji to see the famous golden pavilion. It just is always a pleasure to see. I really liked the scenery now during the sakura season. I am so glad we came during this season.
We walked around and enjoyed fully the scenery. 

After that we made our way towards the Silver pavilion or Ginkakuji, The temple had already closed so we just walked down the philosophers path with our bikes, towards the Nanzen-ji temple. 

The cherry trees were blooming and everything was a wonderful green color around us, just to serene and peaceful, even though there were a lot of people. 

At Nanzenji we just took some pictures and walked around before returning back to our hostel.
Tonight we were a bit tired so that's why my post is so short as well., 

So until next time!

Cheers.
Robert

Journeyman's day in Kyoto with friends

Sanjuusangendo

Today after waking and making ourselves ready we went to the coffeekan near the station to have breakfast. Today we were going to sight-see with my friend whom I met when I was travelling Nagoya the last time I was in Japan. I met him trough Couch surfing. Back then he showed me around Nagoya but this time he came here, to Kyoto, with his coworker from India.
   First we went to Sanjuusangendo temple to see the hall with the 1001 Buddha statues in it. The weather was a bit rainy but we didn't mind since we were in a company. If I had been alone it would have probably been a bit worse.

Toji-In

   We strolled through the yard first which I must say, is much more beautiful now in spring than it was during summer. Though summertime is not so bad at all.
   After seeing the breathtaking statues and awed at the disciplined detailing n the statues, we left to have lunch. We ate curry together at CoCoIchibaya before walking to the station. Everyone got so tired after eating, so after we got to the bus to go to the next location, we were all sleeping inside the buss.
   Next up was the Toji-in temple where the founder of the Ashikaga bakufu, Ashikaga Takauji and the next Ashikaga shoguns after him, were buried there.
   It had a really nice Japanese garden and a small rock garden. The entrance was 500 yen but well worth it thanks to the garden.
   From there it was just a 8 minute walk to the more famous Ryoan-ji temple. The temple is known for its magnificent rock gardens and it had a real nice garden surrounding the main building. A lot of sakura trees and other beautiful plants. To bad that my battery died on my phone so I had nothing to take photos with. But I got to take my video footage  with my GoPro at least.

Ryoan-ji

   We walked and talked and had a good time and after leaving Ryoan-ji we went together to the shopping streets near kawaramachi. There we strolled around and gazed with wonder at the multitude and diversity of products that were sold there. Truly something very Japanese could be observed over there.

After that came goodbyes. We parted there with my friend and continued then with Wilhelmina and Hilda towards our hostel. We went on our way to the Kyoto Navi shopping mall to shop and from there we went to a near by Japanese restaurant to eat Shabu-Shabu. It is a food where you have a pot with boiling stock in it and you put vegetables there and you have thinly sliced cuts of meat that you quickly dip in the boiling soup with your sticks, and swirl it around until cooked. the meat is then dipped in sauce or into a raw egg and eaten with rice. It was sooooooooooooooooooooo good!!
Last up was a quick food shopping at the super and then back to our hostel.
Tomorrow well rent bikes and go to new places in Kyoto.

Cheers
Robert

Gion and Kyomizudera

Today we had a good start in our morning when we woke up and made ourselves ready. We went to the Delifrance bakery near the Kyoto station to eat their breakfast set, which included Coffee ,a croissant, bacon, salad and a yogurt. I still remember my first time in Kyoto and this was the place where I ate back then every morning the same thing. I really liked it back then and have fond memories of the service so it has been a morning ritual here in Kyoto for me to go there and eat the breakfast. It's pretty cheap even, considering what is included.
   From there we walked to the Gion area to see the older part of town and some temples and or shrines. We walked all the way from the station so it took us a while to get there but the scenery was super nice.
  In Gion we looked around some shops and ate some ramen and then we walked to Kyomizudera temple to take some photos and to look around in various street shops on the nearby streets.

From there we made our way to a little traditional shop that sold hand made and painted ceramics like cups and bowls etc.
   We all bought something from there since it was quite cheap.
From there we walked closer to our hostel to go to the CoCoIchibaya curry restaurant which we love so much :) Needles to say it was delicious.

From there we still had a bit time to kill, so we went for a half hour to the near by Avanti shopping mall and there I made a HUGE find at the ABC shoe store. I bought two pair of shoes, one Adidas and the other Vans, for just around 6000 yens which is about 55€ or less!!!!
Anyhow, then we went to the Starbucks before coming back to our hostel.
Tomorrow we will meat my friend and go together around the city!

Cheers
Robert

Reaching Kyoto

So we finally left Tokyo today to go to fresher meadows. We woke up and packed and went to Ueno station to buy our ticket since it's less crowded than the Tokyo station. The shinkansen train left from the Tokyo station tho but the lines were ridiculous. We had good time to buy our bento and walk to the platform.
We were soon there since it takes a bit under 3 hours from Tokyo to Kyoto with the bullet train.
After we got to Kyoto we went straight to do our check in at the J hoppers Kyoto.
Today was the day I was organizing an event via Couchsurfing in Kyoto. We went to a Korean BBQ restaurant called Chifaja. Oh it was so delicious, you could eat as much as you wanted for a fixed sum and time. We had the 1h 30min option and as always it was totally worth every penny :)

After eating we said our goodbyes and we went with Wilhelmiina and Hilda to a bar for a drink and then headed back to the hostel. Tomorrow the real sightseeing begins!

Cheers
Rob

The "wasted" day

So like I told you in the last post, we were out the night before so we slept until twelve today. We went straight to eat at a Sukiya chain restaurant. So donburi again :) hahaha It's just too good and simple to resist. Today we went to do some shopping in the nearby Askusa station shopping mall. We spent quite a lot of time there even though we were supposed to go straight to Akihabaras electric town. Well after we shopped, we went to drop of the items at our hostel and then we were finally on our way. We were supposed to meet few of our friends to go and sing karaoke with a bit later so we only had an hour to see around.
I had totally misunderstood where we would be going to for karaoke so they thought that we knew a place and vice versa. After stating that we couldn't find one there, we went to Shibuya. There we found a place and went there. The system was a bit complex since they had all these charges ,it wasn't so expensive though, but it was one of those moments I thank myself for studying Japanese.

After the Karaoke we ate sushi and went to a English pub. Just generally speaking a awesome night tho nothing in particular was done. Next up will be KYOTO! Can't wait.


Cheers
Robert

Walking from Harajuku to Shibuya

So today went to Harajukus Meiji shrine. During breakfast I had struck up a conversation with a couple of Americans and they wanted to tag along until they would do their check in. So we all went all the way to JR Harajuku station and from there it is just a short walk to the Meiji shrine.
The roads were humongous and there were a few big Torii gates. Todays weather started out chilly but it soon became very warm because of the sun, so it was perfect for my intentions of the day.
After leaving the Meji shrine we went looking around the shopping areas and stores.
The Americans had to leave after we had eaten since they hadn't yet made their check in to the hostel.
We went to the Kiddy-land store there because I knew that A: They would love it, B: I knew I liked it. ;)

Well we found a new funny mascot that they had come up with. A egg that was lazy and a bit disgruntled. It is so funny!

From there we started to walk to Shibuya which is known for it's Shibuya 109 building and for it's crossing where just everyone goes mad ones it becomes green. There are a lot of amusement type of shops and restaurants and vendors etc. It is just the best place to go and have a good time and to eat and drink. And it's hella crowded! :) hhahah but hey that's Japan.

So when we had seen enough we returned back to Asakusa and ate at a Donburi restaurant. I just LOVE donburi, it's all you need in life. It's quick, it's warm, it's plentiful and above all it is DELICIOUS. I had the rice with beef! So good!

There after we went to our hostel. we wanted to drink with our friends but since it was so late, we decided that we would drink by ourselves, but luckily we made new acquaintances at the hostel. A German girl joined us in our drinking :)
We had a blast and that's also part of the reason why I am writing all of this after hand

Cheers!

Taking in the urban scenery of Tokyo

Today we didn't do anything extraordinary, not even anything particularly exciting.
After we woke up we just went to the Tokyo station and from there to the Imperial palace grounds. It was very sunny and windy out side, yet it was a bit cold.
After that we went to Hamatsucho station to meet my friend  and to have lunch with him.
We went to my favorite curry chain restaurant: CoCoIchibaya!!! I took my usual Chicken katsu curry, and as always, it was SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOD!
After a filling meal we walked to a Park nearby and strolled around talking. Later we walked to the Tokyo Tower.It's an old broadcasting tower that reminds you of the Eiffel tower in France, though this was only 333 meters tall.
We walked from there to the metro station and took our subway train with one change to Asakusa.
There we went to the super and by the PAKU PAKU bento shop and bought ourselves some dinner.
This was our pretty regular day today but tomorrow we will have more excitement!

Cheers!
Robert

Already alone !? My trip to Nikko

Today we woke up a bit drowsy from last nights drinking. We were out in Asakusa and went to a street bar where I struck up a conversation with a few Japanese people. we had fun and they even bought me a beer and complimented me on my Japanese which always makes the little egomaniac inside of me pleased.
But back to today! I decided early on that, since the girls wanted to go and shop together in Harajuku,  I would travel by myself. I thought about where to go for a while and decided that Nikko would be a good place to spend one day by myself.
Nikko of course is famous for its UNESCO world heritage temples and is the grave sight for the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate and Edo (what Tokyo was called back then), Tokugawa Ieyasu.

I must emphasize the fact that spring in Japan is so cool and beautiful. Coming from cold Finland it really feels nice to be walking around without a jacket.
The cherry trees are soon going to blossom so can't wait to see it!

In Nikko I took a stroll through the town towards the park where the temple complex lied. It was war, but quite windy outside. Thanks to the JRPass I could just simply walk and reserve the tickets and just go as I pleased.

I ate an Ekiben or a boxed lunch from the station on the train, it was delicious as always. After climbing stairs up to the temple and grave I took my time there and just absorbed all of the scenery in, bit by bit.

Finally as the clock was nearing half five I started to return to the station and took my trains back to Ueno. There I met up with my girlfriend and her sister to go and eat.
There is a quite good ramen shop at the station, so we went there.
After we had eaten we went by our hostel and rested a bit but then we wanted to still go out for a little walk, so I took them to see the nearby Tokyo Sky Tree.

Tomorrow we will probably do some intercity sightseeing.
'Till then!
Robert

A journey man on the road again

Waking up to the surreal feeling that you are going to leave behind the dusts of your own country, and fly to the land of the rising sun. It is always as accelerating to make the first step out of bed, knowing that you will see it first after many weeks.
This time I'm not alone in my travels. I have my girlfriend, her sister and three other friends with me. Though it will be mainly me, my girlfriend and her sister that travel together.

Today we didn't have the best start on our travels since, as it well happens sometimes, the flight was over booked and we didn't exactly have seats reserved, just the flight.
Finnair tried to give us monetary compensation to get us to take a later flight if we could. But for us it was a definite no go on that option. Why? well Hilda, my girlfriends sister had booked her flights after me and Wilhelmiina, and for some weird reason they had booked a seat for her...
Oh well We got seats thanks to the effort of the attendants at the airport and Finnair and we are now glad to say we're here!!!
It is my first time here during the cherry blossom season and I have already seen some promising buds on the trees.

Today, since we are a bit Jet lagged, we have been touring around Asakusa where our hostel is. Asakusa (for those who didn't know) for its temples, Incl. : the sensoji temple. Also this is where you find the picturesque thunder gate, or more properly known as "KAMINARI MON".

We ate some bentos we got from the paku paku lunch box shop just near by our hostel. they sell good quality food for a low budget prize, every Obento is about 250 yen each. It's INSANE.

We will go drinking tonight at the beautiful Asakusa bar street!!

Many cheers!
Robert

13 days to liftoff !

Hi guys!
So only 13 days until we leave to Japanand :)
I have been keeping myself busy by brewing beer etc. in order not to go MAD from the wait.
Japan has truly so much to offer and I am freaking out by the mere thought of the cherry blossom season that will great us when we arrive!
I will be filming my trip on my GoPro again but I am going to have some tough decisions to make regarding the editing of the videos. I am not satisfied with my older videos thanks to their crappy editing. Tho I have to say, I published one video a day so.... it was to be expected?

Anyhow just wanted you to know what's going on.

Cheers!
Robert