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Kyoto

Wow Japan is amazing. Most people (including myself  for the last 5 weeks) focus on the differences between Japan and other countries but recently I have been focusing on the similarities. I am aware of all the strange difference but I’ve come to realize we are more similar than we think. I believe we can learn a great deal from this country and will continue to do my best at not only learning their culture but also sharing my own. 

Over the last two weeks I have had the opportunity to travel to Kyoto twice. I was specifically interested in traveling to Kyoto because of its history as Japan’s ancient capital and this means a lot more “old Japanese” sights to see. The first time I went to Kyoto it was with my host parents. We drove their which was nice for a change because we have been using the trains to go everywhere and in a car you can see more of the scenery and get a better sense of the people and environment. We stopped at a famous ramen shop on the way there. I knew the ramen must be good when there was a waiting line of people that came out of the building and wrapped around the corner. After 30 minutes of talking about the differences between people of Kyoto vs people of Osaka we finally made our way into the restaurant. The ramen did not disappoint. It was definitely worth the wait and I will probably never eat ramen that good ever again. Once we completed our lunch we continued on our journey to our final destination of Kiyomizu-dera. This is a very famous wooden temple that you have probably seen pictures of at some point in your life. It was unbelievably crowded. I wasn’t expecting a large number of people because it was raining and the fact that everyone was carrying an umbrella made the situation worse. We managed to wiggle our way up the steep hill which was crowded with shops on both sides. Unfortunately the main building was under construction during this time but we were still allowed to enter into it. The combination of being in a forest surrounded by ancient architecture but still being able to see the crowded city really was a humbling experience. 

A couple days later I went back to Kyoto but this time with Nanase to go check out Fushimi Inari Taisha. This is also a famous landmark which you have probably encountered on the internet. This location is famous for its thousands of red torii gates. This place was even more crowded and this time it was a smoking 90 degrees outside. As we began our hike up the mountain I was shocked by the sheer number of torii gates. I knew there were going to be a lot but I believe it is something you have to see to believe. Nanase and I climbed the stairs and followed the trails for a solid 60 minutes. When we came across a map we were shocked to find we had only made it ⅓ of the way to the true top. However, because we were both sweating and covered in mosquito bites we decided to begin our descent back down. This shrine has been my favorite of all the ones I’ve seen so far because as you walked higher and higher up the path the number of people continually decreases and there was a time where it was just Nanase and myself. This created a more surreal experience and the beauty of the gates and shrines were more enjoyable this way. I also liked how if you looked passed the gates you could see the dense forest. In american I often enjoy hiking and being outdoors especially in the forests of Idaho. To see the contrast between the common pine tree in the pacific northwest versus the much different vegetation that was surrounding me at Fushimi inari was very enjoyable. 

On our way back home we decided to stop in the city to eat some food. Nanase really likes Macha flavored things and we found a store that only sold desserts of that flavor. For those of you that don’t know Macha is green tea and here in Japan you can pretty much find anything from ice cream to candy to cake in that flavor. Here we waited another 30 minutes but it was fun to watch the people in the busy city go about their daily lives. We both ordered Tiramisu and even though I was a little skeptical because of the strong green color it was delicious. 

I was surprised throughout both of these trips at the number of foreigners. There were people from not only America but also from Asia and countless European countries. It was nice to know that I wasn’t the only one struggling with the language barrier and it was nice to see and hear so many different languages.  Overall I really like Kyoto with its mixture of modern and ancient culture. I’m loving every minute over here. I will add a lot of the pictures below.

-Hana Hill



















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