Day 19: 19 April 2009

LOCATION: KYOTO (SOUTH EAST)
MOOD: UPBEAT
LISTENING TO: TOKIO – SORAFUNE

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE:

The sites Clement and I visited yesterday were in the north western part of Kyoto, so today we struck off in the opposite direction and headed for downtown Kyoto, which is in the south east. The area is a notorious tourist trap, but given the calibre of the sites on offer it was a destination we couldn't avoid.

Downtown Kyoto, as viewed from the steps of Yasaka Jinja.

The entrance of Yasaka Jinja. And a little eye candy as well - Spring brings out the kimonos, particularly in Kyoto.

Like I said - Tourist Trap.

We grabbed breakfast and headed for our first stop: Yasaka Jinja (Yasaka Temple). To be honest by this point I wasn't really expecting much; the first few days in Kyoto had somewhat deflated my enthusiasm for the city. It was therefore a pleasant surprise to find that Yasaka Jinja was not only expansive and visually impressive, it was also free. As it turns out, less is most definitely not more – the large attractions are usually either free or very affordable, while you'll find yourself paying through the nose for some of the smaller, less impressive and more obscure temples.

A couple decided to take advantage of the good weather. You can bet they'd be paying through their noses for the privilege though.

There was a vending machine nearby and we enjoyed a short break by this pool as we sipped melon soda.

For some reason this little kid was playing randomly in the river bed.

If you want a little peace and quiet (and shade) you can head further up into the hills. There's a collection of temples you can check out if you're so inclined.

Of course that'll take you away from the main attractions...

SHE WAS A DOWNTOWN GIRL:

After Yasaka Jinja we headed for the nearby Kiyomizudera. Well, nearby is a relative term – the trip was elongated by the fact that it was hot, crowded and we were searching for lunch. Unfortunately although the sites in downtown Kyoto are cheap, the food isn't – we kept passing high end boutique restaurants in our search for an affordable place to rest out legs and fill out stomachs. Strangely enough we ended up eating at a quiet little Chinese restaurant.

Everybody wants a slice of the action.

Even the monks were out soliciting for donations. I'm not sure whether it's just this period of the year, but they were out in force during my time in Kyoto.

The entrance to Kiyomizudera.

Kiyomizudera is perched up on the mountainside, which meant a climb through a winding, crowded street packed with tourists (both local and foreign), souvenir shops and small little cafes. The walk however was worth it, as Kiyomizudera is heavy on the eye-candy and interesting trivia and light on the random statues and large doses of text. It also helped that we got to take photos with these lovely ladies:

Believe it or not I actually wasn't as uncomfortable as I look.

Clement was obviously much more accustomed to getting love from the ladies.

I actually had to fight off a couple of people to get enough space to take this photo.

The views were pretty breathtaking, even after all the sights I'd seen so far.

The story goes that if you can walk from the first stone to the second stone with your eyes shut you'll find true love. Luckily for this girl the crowd was pretty supportive.

This is supposedly sacred water, with one stream representing health, the other money and the last one success in your work. You're supposed to drink from each one. I couldn't help but think of that Simpsons episode where they go to the Duff factory and find that all the different types of Duff come from the same pipe.

On the way back we passed a Kabuki theatre. If time and budget permit I'll see a show before I leave Japan.

It appears that a popular way to beat the heat is taking a dip in the Kamogawa river.

CHEAP THRILLS:

We got back fairly early in the evening, so we rounded up the rest of the gang and headed out for dinner. After much deliberation we eventually settled on a local ramen place, and despite initial commitments to each order different dishes the economic realities of our situation imposed on us and we ended up all going with the chashu ramen (pork noodles) special.

My self-photography skills were good enough to get everybody in the shot except for myself. Oh well, you're probably sick of my auto-portraits by now anyway.

Dinner was over by around 8:30 and we were then faced with the question of what to do with the rest of the evening. I can't remember who it was, but one of us suggested that we do what all poor students do when they want to have a good time without breaking the bank – the time honoured tradition of the stay-at-home piss up. We each chipped in 500 yen and sent Clement and Rex off to get as much cheap grog as they could. The result? Enough alcohol to get us tipsy and the stories flowing. The cocktails were ordinary and the beer was awful, but the night was a good one.

A productive night no doubt.

Song-Yi was there as well (she took the picture), but she was in her pajamas so out of respect I didn't post the photo with her in it.