Kyoto…. what can I say… its a VERY large city, with lots of streets and buildings on either side. Riddled througout the newer buildings are temples and shrines everywhere. Kyoto used to be Japan’s capital city, before the [capital] moved to Toyko. There were very many sites to see in Kyoto, but very little time to see them in.

On our first day out in Kyoto we rented a pair of bicycles and rode them to the western outskirts of the city to see some temples. By looking at the map, I figured we will be able to see plenty of hotspots before 7pm (we had to have the biked back by 7). After about 40 minutes we began to realize that the scale on the map(s) that we had wasn’t very consistant at all. Also, our maps diddn’t have any street names labeled, making the journey quite difficult. Deena then decided that we should ask someone on the streets for directions. She approached a lady on a bike at the intersection and pointed to where we wanted to go on the map. The bike lady pointed to herself and then down the street, assuming we were to follow her. We kept pace with her for about 20 minutes, winding down and around small streets, and eventully come to a glorious Tori surrounded by trees. This wasn’t really where we wanted to go, but we were very glad that she had showed us the way. We would have never found this temple on our own, all tucked away within the suburban outskirts of Kyoto. Beyond the tori lived a large and rustic temple, surrounded by all sorts of exciting plants and a thick bamboo forest. We walked the grounds, stunned by the awesomeness that it was. I payed 200 to try and shoot 2 arrows at a target. Apparently my arching skills aren’t as good as I remember it being. I missed the first one by alot, but the 2nd arrow almost made it to the actuall target.
After that temple (i think it was called the grand temple) we tried to find a shrine dedicated to insects. A pesticide company here felt bad for all the insects it helped slaughter, so they built a shrine for them. I’m not sure if we found it or not, but we did come across a really nice shrine with a very large lineup. We looked at it briefly, then went on our way. Leaving there we met a very friendly security officer, who was very eager to talk to us. He was very interested in why we came to Japan and how we ended up so far from the city. He was also very interested in the sweet bikes we rented… mine was brown and deenas was green. Upon leaving the shrine we figured that there was no way we would be able to see all the sites i had planned for the day, so we rode back to the city centre to return the bikes.
Needless to say we were really pooped out by the end of the day, so we just went for some eats and then off to bed.

Day 2 in Kyoto, it was a very rainy day. I awoke with itchy bites all over my body (much like the first night). The first night there I saw a little black spider crawl away from under my pillow, so he was my main suspect. I decided to let him be the first night, hoping he wouldn’t do it again, but I was wrong. The 2nd morning was the final straw. Again I saw the little critter crawling away from me as I woke up, so I grabbed the can of raid in our room (handy that it was there ,eh) and sprayed the little bugger to death. After a few minutes my face felt a little numb so I thought it would be a good idea to open the window. I also gave Deena a little nudge just to make sure I didd’t kill her so early on in the trip. I was ready to roll, and Deena was still in bed, so I went on without her. I walked in the rain to a covered street where they sold clothing and touristy shops. Not soo exciting, but at least I was out of the rain. From there I headed off to Sanjusangendo Temple which is home to 1001 wooden cannon statues. It was very spectacular, seeing all these hand made statues lined up all the way down a narrow corridor. Throughout them were various deities. Unfourtunetly picture taking was not allowed. Afterwards it was time for me to walk back to the hostel. I was already soaking wet at this point, so I didn’t have to worry about getting any wetter. When I got back to the hostel, Deena looked very comfortable, having taken both matresses and pillows, and wedged herself into the corner of the wall. She had drawn some lovely pictures and wrote some stories while I was gone. We then hit up foods and hung out at a media cafe for some good ol american TV. On the way back to the hostel, I stopped in at the 711&holdings (its what they call 711 here) for a can of fresh flavoured oxygen. I decided to get the forest aroma flavour, rather than the coffee scented one. Feeling bright and refreshed after some good oxygen, we went right to bed.

The next day we woke up and checked out of our hoste. Before we hopped on the train to Osaka, we hit up the Golden Pavillion. This place was real nice. A 3 story old style house, with 2 of the upper floors covered in gold leaf, surrounded by a lake with little islands througout. Needless to say, it was quite shiny, quite.

We then rode the bus back to our bags and then trucked it to the train station. We waited for about 50 minutes for our train and were really concered when the train diddn’t show up at the time specified. Every train/bus we caught here came and left the minute it said it was supposed to. Finally the train showed up, and 29 minutes later we were in Osaka. Again surrounded by a huge city with bright flashing lights. We booked a last minute hotel in the northen disctrict of Osaka, dropped off our bags, and then headed out for some tasty eats (cold soba noodles with tempura). Before we went for food, we wandered around a 9 story department store (there seem to be alot of these in Japan). I was looking around at gundam figures, when the airsoft department caught my eye. I’ve been looking for an airsoft gun here since day 2, specificly a mini electric MP5 that I’ve been eyeing for years (since I first became interested in non leathal firearms). There it was, the last one in stock. I emmidietly bought it and am looking foreward to practicing my target shooting all night. Moving and non moving. Which brings us to today… here…. right now… sitting at the Media Complex Space in Osaka, wondering which direction I left the hotel at. With some luck and little guidance, I’m sure we will once again find our way back.

good-bye
a.