Kyoto

I can’t sleep at all right now (it’s almost 2:45 in the morning and I have class tomorrow). But I guess I can recount my trip to Kyoto last weekend. I guarantee this will be poorly written. . .

The trip started off with my first experience on the “Bullet Train”. It was really comfortable, lots of leg room. I fell asleep for pretty much the whole time. We ate dinner at this place that had pizza and stuff. The Japanese people we were with each got a little dish, while two of my friends shared two pizzas. I ordered garlic bread, chicken wings, and a pizza for myself. The waiter was taken aback by the way I ordered, I guess you’re not supposed to order as much as you want, or something like that. Maybe it brings dishonor? I still really haven’t figured that one out.

The next day we hung out and walked to a shrine in town. We spent time at Morgan’s host-family’s house. That night we celebrated Morgan’s birthday with a huge feast and two of our other friends from language school came. Lots of fun. Her host-parents kept bring out the beer (high quality stuff I usually don’t order because I can’t justify it) but I guess because we were all Americans they figured beer was like water to us, and kept bring more and more out.

The next day we visited a shrine and a temple. At the shrine I threw my coins into this special place and got to ring the huge bell. That was cool. I have a video of it. I had to bow, clap, clap, bow, ring bell, and finally bow. I think I got the order right. . . I really don’t want to piss off any Japanese gods.

At the Kyomizu Temple there was plenty of “game” to play to please the various gods and bring yourself good luck. The first was crossing this section between two knee-high rocks in order to have a love-related wish granted. The catch is you have to close your eyes and if you open them, nothing good will happen to you for a whole year. You are supposed to have your friends lead you across, but they are not allowed to touch you—just give verbal commands.

I go first, and as I start walking, I’m immediately surprised that the Japanese people there didn’t get out of my way when I’m clearly 1) walking with my eyes closed and 2) trying to have a wish granted IN THE MIDDLE of the wish granting place. People kept bumping into me, and it was really disorienting because having my eyes closed, I had no idea when the next person was coming. I heard all these people laughing and saying stuff like “take a picture of HIM” so I became self-conscience, but I wasn’t about to risk a year of bad luck by opening my eyes. I eventually made it (see pic).

The temple has three waterfalls that will give you LOVE, LONGEVITY, or SUCCESS. You drink out of a cup that is attached to a long pole. Then after you’re done, you put the cup under a UV-lamp to sterilize it—just like the ancient samurai did. Anyway, I thought I’d out smart the gods and I bought a cup for longevity line, but I drank out of the success one. I figured the love was taken care of from the blind-rock touching, so now I had all my bases covered.

That night we had all you can eat Korean BBQ. We got to cook it at the table, but they used gas instead of charcoal. It didn’t really matter though, because it was also unlimited drinks. And because we were in Kyoto, the waiters actually served us well, as opposed to the slow-footed ones back in Tokyo. Afterwards we went to karaoke and sang a bunch of Disney songs.

On Sunday we went to Oosaka. We walked around the mall and had lots of food. That night I met Kelsey’s host family and all the little kids. Home-stays seem like a great setup for the people doing them. I’m still sticking with my decision to only come for half a year, but if I was going to stay a year, I now know that a home-stay would have been a great choice.

On Monday we went to the Golden Temple. I was really surprised that it was actually gold. I guess I should have figured. Anyway, we spent time there and afterwards, we took the Bullet train back home. I got in around 9 and got to do all the homework I had missed. All in all, Kyoto is a pretty cool place, much more relaxed that Tokyo, but I’m glad I’m here because I have relaxed back at Midd. I’m here for crazy.