Kyoto

Today we went to Kyoto – the capital of Kyoto prefecture and the former capital of Japan!

Kyoto is packed with temples, statues, restaurants, and historical architecture.

Not only does it maintain many ancient shrines and historical buildings – it also houses many of the historically accurate sets used in dramas and Samurai movies. You've probably seen it even if you think you haven't.

Considering this I shouldn’t have been surprised that Kyoto Castle felt so much like a movie set. We spent most of our time in Kyoto being shepherded through the castle grounds. I mean, it was beautiful – the woodcarvings and reflecting pools alone were worth the trip – it just felt so… well… tourist-y.
It felt like something that could be faithfully reconstructed in an amusement park. The gorgeous scenery was tempered by the castle's bland foreigner-friendly atmosphere. I have to say I expected a bit more from Kyoto.

Now that we know how to get there (no small feat – two trains, two busses, and a whole lot of asking for help) I think it’s time to plan this out. I know there's more to Kyoto than this. It’s just hard to get lost in a place when everyone around is busy either trying to sell you souvenirs or taking photos. Then again… did I mention it was beautiful?
Now that I’ve seen the city’s vibrant center I think I’m ready to find some of the quiet corners. I read about some shrines and temples that look amazing - perhaps more pensive and less roped off than the castle. Train times make an extended stay difficult - maybe a hotel room is in order. I look forward to returning!
Unrelated!

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Lost in Osaka

Sometimes in order to find the right way to do something you must first figure out all the wrong ways. Today I found all the streets in Osaka that don't lead to my apartment. Good thing Osaka is gorgeous:
I finally made it back to my apartment after half an hour of what seemed like hopeless wandering - writing at this point would be about as fun to write as it would be to read, so I'm going to get some rest.

Full impressions of the flight, Osaka thusfar, and everything else come tomorrow.

'night! Read more!

One

Here's where I say it's one day until I leave for Japan... but really I'm leaving in a few hours. Oh well!

So I took pictures of every thing I'm taking abroad. I was going to include an extensive list - but it's five thirty in the morning. Frankly, I would rather not. Instead I present them to you sans narration:



Super blog entry in a few days, folks. See you then!
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Two.

Two days until I leave for Japan.

Tomorrow I'm going to post pictures of every single thing I'm taking abroad. They'll be here.

The day after that I'm leaving.

While I'm traveling I'm going to write something every hour - stream of consciousness. I won't have web access for a little while, so I'm going to return with a crazy huge blog entry when I do.

Also, there's going to be tons of pictures! Shit's gonna get crazy. Read more!

Eight.

Eight days until I leave for Japan

But it won't be easy getting there - I'm looking at a full twenty four hours of travel here.

EDIT (for clarity) - it is actually when you factor in car rides, arriving to the airport early, and layovers that my travel time approaches 24 hours. Map will be edited to reflect this.

That's seventeen hours in the air - my longest flight is thirteen hours.

How will I handle a flight of that legnth? Snacks? Tetris? Airplane wine?

We shall see. In the meantime I've made a little map detailing the ridiculousness of my flight. Enjoy!


Link to Full Map

ps. Click for detail - I know tiny embedded maps can be infuriating.
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