From Tokyo With Love

Finding wi-fi internet access in Japan isn't as easy as I thought it might be for a country that is otherwise obsessed with technology. In Kyoto I found free wi-fi at the McDonald's at the station. How unfortunate that I had to purchase a tasty double cheeseburger meal just to sit at McDonald's while accessing the internet... And to do so on more than occasion in a day.

My last post was written while on the train from Nara back to Kyoto, and sent when I stopped by at McDonald's that evening. You might remember I was hiding from Dominick, the crazy German rice queen, who wanted to go sightseeing on Tuesday. I was paranoid I'd run into him, and be busted. And sure enough, as I left McDonald's that evening, I could see him heading towards me. Fortunately, I was heading in a slightly different direction, and managed to avoid being busted. I think.

Yesterday, Wednesday, was the scheduled day to check out some of Kyoto's sights. But after two weeks in Japan, I am out-shrined, out-templed, and just plain over trying to deal with the thousands of schoolchildren that I have to battle in order to visit a tourist attraction. I think I am conservative in my estimate that I have encountered no less than twenty thousand school children in Hiroshima, Miyajima, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. In fact, I am beginning to wonder if Japanese kids do ANY schoolwork at all.

So I took my time to get up yesterday, and didn't leave the hotel until 11:30. From a state of relaxation, I was thrust into panic Upon realising I only had about five hours of sightseeing before everything closes. Kerby is so organised when we travel together, and recently I have relied on him to set the schedule. I could have done with Kerby's help yesterday because I got stressed really quickly speed-reading my guide book and shortlisting an intinerary.

Anyhow, I made it to three temples and shrines. The first, whose name forgets me, is located on the edge of the city, perched on a mountainside. Kyoto is essentially located in the basin between a ring of mountain ranges. This shrine had a stunning view of the city.

I then went on the Philosopher's Walk, a designated walking route that follows a canal for quite some distance. I am not sure why it is called the Philosopher's Walk, because while beautiful it isn't stunning, and not even that thought-provoking. Perhaps that quandary is precisely what I am meant to be philosophising about. Not sure. But I discovered a fantastic Italian café, where I had a three-course meal, including coffee, for about AUD $20. Not a chopstick in sight. Across the canal from this location was a little shop/kitchen that made and sold cinammon biscuits. These rock-hard, thin wafers look like they are made entirely of cinammon and look delicious. I bought some to send back to Kerby but I don't think that many make it into the parcel when it is eventually sent.

After lunch I hastily visited the Silver Pavillion and the Gold Pavillion. These gorgeous temples (the latter covered in gold-leaf) are located in stunning gardens. I visited the Gold Pavillion just on sunset, and snapped dozens of photos with the building's gold-leaf illuminated by th setting sun. And no schoolkids that late either. Unfortunately I didn't make it to Ryoanji garden, which is probably Japan's most famous zen garden. But I hope to return to Kyoto one day and see a lot of the other things I missed, like the monkey park and the Toei Movieland (a working film studio where many of Japan's samurai and period dramas are filmed).

This morning I caught the shinkansen from Kyoto to Tokyo. Unfortunately it was an overcast day so I wasn't able to see Mt Fuji. Here's hoping that the weather fines up for when I visit Tokyo Tower tomorrow. Apparently you can just make out the mountain's cone-shape on a clear day.

From Tokyo I took an above-ground train to fashionable Shinjuku. I love the look of Tokyo. So many new buildings, and Shinjuku is like Tokyo's shining jewel in the crown. This is the area that featured in Lost in Translation. I have checked into a Shinjuku hotel for sentimental reasons. I read about this hotel in the Beyond 2000 book about nineteen years ago, and even did a school assignment on it. At the time it was heralded as an example of the future of hotels. It's still pretty impressive, and looks like it has been recently renovated. My room is a decent size, not as small as I expected, but is equipped with a 20" flat-screen LCD television, and an electric massaging chair among other things. It's a little out of the way from Shinjuku-2-chome (Tokyo's gay district, also in Shinjuku) but is very cool nonetheless. That's about it for the moment. I am now heading off to check out the local electronics stores before catching up with Tracey Northcott this evening.