Tuesday, April 1 - Kyoto Day 2

We woke up late at around 9 or so as D had to go to school then. He told us of this really cool onsen to check out up in the mountains. It is a ways away, but Vaso and I decided to do it anyways. Not knowing the area very well, we hopped on a bus to Kyoto station to get directions to the onsen. We took a subway all the way to the last stop called Kokusaikaikan and then hopped on a bus the rest of the way. We made a mistake on the bus and got off only about half way there. Stopping at a conveniently located convenience store, we bought lunch and drinks and asked for directions. They said we should have stayed on the bus. Back at the bus stop, we ate our snacks, hopped on the bus, and took it all the way to the last stop, Ohara.



Now this was countryside. There were mountains towering on either side of us with a rather large river running down the middle. There were very few houses and even fewer people walking the streets. This is Japanese nature at its best. We ran across a couple temples which we checked out. It started drizzling so we figured it would be best to hit up the onsen soon. There was a package that included food and bath which is exactly what we did. The onsen was great. We met these 2 Taiwanese guys on vacation and talked to them for a while.



Rested and ready to go, we took the hour and a half trip back to Kyoto.



I slept a little on the bus and on the train. On the train these two random girls showed up and Vaso stood up to let them sit down. They giggled and sat down beside me. There was no way I was giving up my comfortable seat for some youngins. I listened in on their conversation and learned they were talking about how to start up a conversation with us. I did the favor for them receiving two astonished looks. I didn’t get to say much as they got off at the next stop. Anyway, we contacted Ayana and planned on meeting up at Kiyomizu temple. Vaso and I hopped on a bus and walked up to the temple. We met these Chinese people who are attending college in Japan and got our pictures with them. Ayana showed up and we entered the temple grounds. The sun was starting to go down at this point. Today happened to be a special day for the temple. A pitch black hallway was opened up for visitors to walk through. Best 100 yen I ever spent. We walked through a black hallway. I constantly ran into Vaso, and the group behind me constantly ran into me.



The temple was absolutely beautiful at night. A beam of light shone from the mountains across the city, the trees were lit up with lights, the sakura were blooming. We went to the main area of the temple which was 3 streams flowing over the roof of a building. Ayane said that each one had a different meaning. Each one represented love, school, and a long life. They were not labeled, but I was hoping I drank the one for school.



After the temple we went out for Okonomiyaki back in Gion. It was the best okonomiyaki I had ever eaten. The Kansai area is famous for its okonomiyaki and takoyaki.



Afterwards Ayana suggested we go out for karaoke or something. Vaso detested and I suggested we go play darts or pool instead. Pool it was. Ayana had never played before so we got to try and help her out. We are by no means good teachers, but we can usually hit the ball in the direction we are aiming. We were also forced to buy a drink at this place too, but they also had ice cream and soda to choose from rather than just booze.



Back outside we ran into other study abroad students from Waseda. There was a fairly large group of about 10 of them visiting Kyoto for the week. None of them are particularly close friends, so we talked for a few minutes and then escorted Ayana back to the train station. She gave us both hugs (rare for a Japanese person to initiate it) and departed for home. Vaso and I did the same, but because we did not know Kyoto at all, we got lost and once again split a taxi back to D’s place.