Kimonos in Kyoto: National Day 2018

My hostel in Kyoto was right next to the train station on the 10th floor so I had a nice view of the city. I had found an article about weird and wonderful hostels around the world and this one was one of the ones featured in it. Book and Bed hostel was exactly how i imagined sleeping in a library

would be. It's a small place with only about 20 beds to get into which you have to climb through a hole in a bookcase. It was so chilled out and quiet that it was a nice change from the busy chaos of Osaka.

I was both lucky and unlucky in Kyoto as the weather wasn't great. On the one hand, it kept most of the people off the streets so i could walk in an undisturbed peace. However this meant that all of the restaurants and covered areas were crammed with people.

Kyoto is a very picturesque place with whole areas of 'traditional Japanese culture' which looked pretty even if they're not authentic but instead manufactured. I haven't been able to find out which is the case, but it doesn't really matter. The annoying thing was the Kimono wearing tourists who were trying to get the perfect Japanese picture. I have no problem with people wanting to take nice pictures, I know i do the same, it was just the sheer quantity of them. Hundreds of people would swarm the streets in the breaks in the weather and, as they were on a time limit until the next shower, would get angry and sometime rude or aggressive if you happened to wander into their shot. I tried to stay out of as many as I could but it really was impossible and I had to just accept getting nasty looks as I walked past people.

Kyoto and Osaka are about as different as two places can be, which is impressive as they are only an


hour apart. Osaka is the busy shopping center of flashing lights and chaos whereas Kyoto is a chilled out temple filled traditional cobbled street labyrinth.

I changed my plans to have two nights instead of one in Kyoto. Many of the attractions of Osaka were closed after the typhoon so it made very little difference to my overall trip. It actually worked out well as I was able to get to the two most beautiful places very early in the morning before all the crowds and get to see it in all its glory.

My first early morning adventure was to the Fushimi Inari Shrine which is only a little way out of town. Google maps is a wonderful thing that I appreciate every time I leave China, I say this as it saved me from getting lost on the side of the mountain many times. The shrine consists of 10,000 red gates spread over trails all over the side of a mountain. From what I could gather, all of the trails looked the same but were different length and lead to a different road for the exit. I was advised to get there early enough to avoid the tour groups so I got up at yuck o'clock and got lost on the train system for about half an hour before stumbling across a lost couple who were also heading to the shrine. I followed them and luckily it all worked out fine.

After walking for miles around the shrine I headed back to Kyoto for a quick nap before going in search of temples. As it happened, I failed to find temples but instead just picked a direction and walked.  Kyoto is smaller than Osaka but somehow still has a bunch of different districts, old, new, shopping, food and parks.

The next morning I went in search of the famous bamboo forest. I had seen pictures of the forest when it was busy and knew that I did not want to see that, so I went early in the morning and had the place between me and only a few others. A very good decision!

After my trip in a trip to Kyoto, I went back to Osaka for a further day and a bit of shopping and sushi before heading back to Kunming and a mass of classes.

October in Osaka: National Day 2018

National Day rolled round again and as I take pretty much every opportunity to get out of kunming that comes my way nowadays, I booked a trip. My original plan was Sri Lanka but the airlines

messed than one up but gave me a pretty nice compensation
discount code thing. As a result my flights to Japan were stupidly cheap. Already a good trip in my book. I booked 6 days in Osaka with a few days in Kyoto in the middle.

I arrived in the early afternoon on the Monday, spent a little time in the airport trying (and failing) to get my head around the ATM's and the trains into the city before actually going in search of one. My internet research had left me more than a little confused about the train system, a feeling that didn't lessen in my week in the city. Osaka and the surrounding area has a few different rail systems, networks, companies and all have very long names which are impossible to remember. I gave up most times and asked the people wandering about with clipboards.

The first thing I did was head straight both tourist information center and ask someone who knows what they are talking about. The woman was fantastic and loaded me up with maps, train tourist travel cards, discount code and coupons. It turned out that there had been a pretty hefty typhoon the day before i arrived that had damaged, and closed for repair, some of the places I wanted to visit. It wasn't a huge blow but made for a change of plans.

If i have the time, I always try to spend my first day in a new place just wandering about and taking in the general feel and pace of the city. With 6 days I had plenty of time, so I picked a place on the map and just walking in its general direction. Subways are great for getting to different places easily but I think you miss so much of the city, true some the lines were above ground but most weren't. As it turns out, I was staying very close to the "world famous" shopping area of Dotonbori. During the day, this area was fairly laid back and not too busy, at night however was a different beast. It seems that the lights and general excitement of
the whole area make this a very popular tourist spot, something I was not prepared for. Regardless of the crowds, which only seemed to gather at the central crossroads, it soon became my favourite place to people watch. Osaka is famed for its shopping above everything else and its easy to see why. nearly every station was attached to some form of shopping center. Many were linked by long underground shopping streets, it is almost possible to cross the whole city without going above ground (which is the case in TaiPei). Excellent people watching places all of them!

When I wasn't watching the crowds swarm past, I checked out the local attractions. Top of my list was the aquarium which is rated as one of the best in the world. I love aquariums! If i'm in a city that has one, I guarantee I'll go. Osaka overtook ShangHai as my favourite and is the current top runner. Whoever designed the place deserves a medal. It's a huge three floor space with one massive central tank that the rest of the building circles. So for the vast majority of your time in the aquarium, you will always have the same tank on your right. Opposite are dozens of smaller tanks filled with all sorts of aquatic wonders. I saw
dolphins, rays, Japanese Giant Spider crabs, jellyfish and loads more.

The central tank was the highlight for me, WHALE SHARKS! I have long been fascinated by these humongous creatures and I have always wanted to see one. Yes, I am aware in captivity is not the same but its something! I spent several hours here in the early morning quiet and had a great time.

As I was leaving, I got a message from a friend (who had seen  message I posted about the aquarium) from Kunming who was coincidentally in Osaka for the week and was only a subway stop away. We arranged to meet and then spent the afternoon together.

I had planned on going to Kyoto that afternoon but as it was less than an hour on the train away, I

rearranged and we went to Osaka Castle together. The castle was a busy but pleasant place in the middle of a nice big park so we could wander without there being too many people. We spent a few hours in the park before I darted back to the hostel to grab some stuff and get to Kyoto.