March

Last month was a strange month!

The weather was constantly changing, which I suppose is typical of March, but it was much more extreme than normal.  We had a days and days of balmy weather interrupted by a rare snow day and then back to unseasonable warmth. For the first time ever John and I went to view the cherry blossom at night without needing to wear coats.

And the crazy weather led to sakura chaos. The flowers opened nine days earlier than normal, and the really shocking part was that they came several days before the officially predicted bloom date - which is usually very accurate.

On top of that, it seems like all my friends here in Tokyo are in the midst of different major life transitions. Some of them are happy, others are stressful or scary. But it's felt pretty chaotic lately.

For my own life I've been trying to relax and find the small pleasures each day. Some days that works better than others. But here are a few of the good things.

Celebrating our anniversary at The Park Hyatt

Tea at Chatei Hatou (Photo by Raku)

Cherry blossoms in Nakameguro

A mandarin orange daifuku

A Yokohama day trip

Yokohama in the evening

The Time Is Flying

It's hard to believe it's already the middle of May. Somehow I completely missed writing about the sakura this year, and my sister visiting during her spring break. The cold weather has left, and warm sunny days are coming back, at least for a little while. Rainy season only about three weeks away!

But in the meantime I've been enjoying as much time as I can outdoors. I bought a picnic blanket, and have already put it to use a number of times. A few weeks ago Raku and I went on an overnight to Yokohama, just for an adventure. And while we didn't go anywhere for Golden Week, John and I made a point of going somewhere fun everyday so that it actually felt like a vacation.

Cherry blossoms with a friend

It's the best time of year

Yokohama

The flowers were fantastic

And so was the company!

Cherry Pie Frappuccino - surprisingly delicious

Apple galette for Raku's birthday

Pretty enough for a restaurant, but made by Raku

Coffee Set at the Hotel Chinzanso

Obligatory Sakura Post

It's already the tail end of sakura season. It's the best time of year here, but so fleeting. A couple days ago it rained all day, knocking down a lot of the blossoms and now little green leaves are overtaking the remaining flowers. Luckily I managed to get in lots of cherry blossom viewing over the last couple weeks. There's not much more to say, being that it's my fourth sakura season (how has it been that long already?!?) so instead, I'll let my pictures do the talking.

Kyoto Day Three: Fushimi Inari

On our third day in Kyoto Julie and I woke to gray skies and rain. Our plan had been to go to Nara, an area near Kyoto famous for the semi-tame deer, and then possibly stop at Fushimi Inari Taisha before taking the shinkansen back to Tokyo. We bought some rain gear (and umbrella for me, a rain coat for Julie) at a convenience store and ate breakfast while we debated what to do. Finally we decided to see Fushimi Inari first, and decide from there if we wanted to continue on to Nara.

Fushimi Inari is an incredible shrine that I highly recommend. It's famous for the long path of torii gates that wind up through the mountains. Most people don't walk the whole way up, but if you have the time I think it would be amazing. The rain cut down on the crowds, but there were still plenty of people with umbrellas bumping into each other. We got started on our walk up through the gates, and it was almost like an obstacle course with all the umbrellas and people stopping off and on to take pictures backing up the line of people behind them. But to be honest, it's such a beautiful place that for once I didn't really mind the crowds.

At one point Julie and I found a little spot between the two rows of gates to stop and have a little photo shoot without getting in everyone else's way. Eventually we turned around and walked through the rest of the shrine's grounds. It was so peaceful and beautiful with rain drops dripping off the cherry blossoms.

When we left Fushimi Inari we decided not to venture on to Nara. It's a wonderful place, and I'm so sorry that Julie wasn't able to see it, but one of the things Julie was most excited about was feeding and interacting with the deer, and we decided that petting wet deer might be kind of gross. So we headed back to the station, bought our train tickets and some box lunches and headed back to Tokyo.

It wasn't a very long trip, but it was absolutely amazing. Kyoto is such a beautiful place and it was so refreshing to spend so much time outdoors in nature instead of surrounded by buildings. I love Tokyo, and I feel so grateful that I'm able to live here. I'm able to take advantage of so many amazing opportunities, and I have access to just about anything I can imagine, but the longer we stay here the more I realize what an impact growing up in the mountains of North Carolina had on me. Without time in uncrowded green places around I start to go a little crazy. Our time in Kyoto just soothed my soul.

Loving that rain jacket!

The torii gates at Fushimi Inari

Goofing around at Fushimi Inari

Rainy Cherry Blossoms

Cherry trees near the train station

Train station in the country side

The roof of Kyoto Station

Places we went:
Fushimi Inari Taisha

Read about the rest of our trip:
Arashiyama and Kawaramachi
Kiyomizudera, Nanzenji, and The Philosopher's Path

Kyoto Day Two: Kiyomizudera, Nanzenji, and the Philosopher's Path

On our second day in Kyoto we woke up bright and early thanks to Julie's jet lag. Out of the hotel by 7:20, we stopped at Lawson for a quick convenience store breakfast and then caught a bus to Kiyomizudera, one of the most famous temples in Kyoto.

From the bus stop it's still a bit of a walk up to Kiyomizudera. There were a few other early risers out with us, but it was a very quiet walk passed many closed shops. We were lucky to have arrived so early because it meant the temple was far less crowded and much more enjoyable. Part of the temple was under construction, and while it looked disappointing from the entrance it actually wasn't a big deal at all. We wound our way through the grounds, enjoying the cherry blossoms as we went. We must have been at a higher elevation because not as many were blooming, but we could tell how incredible it would look in just a couple more days.

When we left Kiyomizudera, the little shopping street was buzzing with activity, and we took our time shopping for souvenirs and snacks. If you see any cucumbers on sticks, be careful - they're delicious but super salty! We also shared some ice cream. Japanese vacation spots always seem to have lots of soft serve - I've come to really associate it with travel. We tried the black sesame, and it was very good. A little bit like peanut butter but with a more roasted flavor.

After plenty of shopping and lunch we took a cab to Nanzenji. I don't splurge on taxis very often, but it's totally worth it to save time and walking if you're going to be on your feet touristing for several days in a row. 

Nanzenji is another temple complex in Kyoto with very elaborate grounds. Our first stop was to go up into the Sanmon gate. The stairs are quite steep, and you have to pay a special admission fee, but it's worth it for the fantastic view. From there we headed on to the huge roman aquaduct. It seemed so out of place, like we had suddenly stumbled into Europe, but it's beautiful to look at. If you climb up to the top you can walk along it for a very peaceful walk along the water.

After Nanzenji we walked along the Philosopher's Path, a stone walkway along a canal that connects Nanzenji temple to Ginkakuji temple. It gets it's name from a famous philosopher who is supposed to have meditated as he walked along this path. The path is lined with cherry trees that were beautifully in bloom, and while it was more crowded than we would have liked it was very nice to walk along. There are a number of shops and cafes that make for nice stops if you're tired and need a little break.

Our last stop was a little temple just off the path that a friend had recommended - Honen-in. Honen-in is known for it's sand garden where different patterns and designs are raked into raised beds of sand. After this final temple we caught a bus back to Kyoto station, and this was by far the worst part of our trip. The bus was more crowded than any rush hour train I have ever ridden, and because of heavy tourist traffic took far longer than scheduled to return to the station. If I can offer one piece of advice for visiting Kyoto during a peak season it would be to plan an itinerary that relies on subways, walking, and taxis as much as possible, and avoid buses at peak times of day to the greatest extent possible.

That evening we were exhausted from our early start and our long day of exploring, so we ate dinner at one of the many restaurants at Kyoto Station, rather than venturing out to a more exciting neighborhood with bars, and then went to bed early.

Kiyomizudera

The sakura are just a couple days from blooming

Isn't she so cute?

Seriously, so cute!

The aquaduct at Nanzenji

Walking along the aquaduct

On The Philosopher's Path 

The sand garden at Honen-in

Read about the rest of our trip:
Arashiyama and Kawaramachi
Fushimi Inari

Places we visited:
Kiyomizudera
Nanzenji
The Philosopher's Path
Honen-in

Kyoto Day One: Arashiyama and Kawaramachi

One of the highlights of Julie's visit was our trip to Kyoto. Kyoto is famous for it's temples, shrines, and rich history. Being more nature lovers than history buffs Julie and I knew we wanted to take a trip somewhere, but we weren't initially sure that Kyoto was the right destination. I'm so glad we ignored our doubts, because we had a wonderful trip full filled with beautiful scenery and relaxing gardens mixed in with the rich history.

We had planned on taking a longer trip, but even booking a couple months ahead hotels were almost entirely sold out because of the increased tourism for cherry blossom season. I was only able to find a place for two nights, and we paid far more than we would have at other times of year. Our hotel was near Kyoto station which turned out to be extremely convenient for transportation, but has less nightlife, so keep that in mind if it's a priority for you.

Because we would be there during sakura season I planned our trip with crowds in mind. We tried to start early each day, and use as the trains as much as possible so that we wouldn't have to rely on overcrowded and often delayed buses. Unlike Tokyo the train stations are much farther apart in Kyoto, making them much less convenient.

We left Monday morning from Tokyo station on the bullet train. I bought our tickets a few days in advance just to be sure that we would have seats on the right hand side of the train in hopes of seeing Mt. Fuji if the weather was clear. A note about buying shinkansen tickets - if you're willing to pay cash, you can buy them directly from the green ticket machines in English. This is often much faster than buying them at the counter, but the benefit of that is that they will accept foreign credit cards.

On the ride we lucked out, and had a beautiful clear view of Mt. Fuji. We brought lunches to eat on the train, and had a great time chatting and relaxing as the country flew by. The bullet train is often more expensive than flying, but I have to admit that it is SO much more pleasant. When we reached Kyoto station we put our bags in a locker and immediately took a train out to Arashiyama, the western forested edge of Kyoto.

From the station we walked down to the Togetsukyo Bridge for the famous view of the river and the mountains, then backtracking to Tenryuji temple. It is totally worth the 600 yen to walk through both the temple and garden. We walked around for a while and then spent some time just sitting in the sun staring out at the beautiful scenery. Finally we exited out the back right of the temple into the famous bamboo forest.

The bamboo forest was fairly crowded. We had to angle our cameras up above everyone's heads to get clear photos of just the bamboo. Luckily it's very tall! We saw a few models taking pictures out in the forest, and even snapped a few of our own pictures of them. Through the forest we walked to Okochi Sanso, a private garden that used to be the property of a Japanese period actor. Admission is 1000 yen, which is high, but because so few people are willing to pay it is extremely uncrowded. This was one of our favorite experiences because of the lack of crowds. Admission also includes tickets for matcha and a small traditional sweet at the tea house at the end of your visit.

After a peaceful afternoon surrounded by nature we walked back towards the station, doing a little souvenir shopping along the away. When we got back to Kyoto we picked up our bags, and checked into our hotel.

Once we'd had some time to refresh ourselves we headed out to the Kawaramachi area (easily accessible from Kawaramachi or Gion Shijo stations). This is a fantastic place to explore, eat, and drink, and I can't say enough good things about it. The old streets and alleys are so beautiful it seemed like I was stopping every other second to take more pictures. We walked around the canal that was surrounded by beautiful weeping sakura, found a delicious yakitori place for dinner, and then continued exploring after dinner. If the weather had been warmer it would have been lovely to walk along the Kamo River, but we were too cold to give it a try. Eventually Julie's jet lag caught up with her so we caught a cab home and went to bed early.

Mt. Fuji from the train

Tenryuji Garden

Sakura at Tenruji

Arashiyama's Bamboo Forest

Okochi Sanso

Models in the Bamboo

Kawaramachi

Kawaramachi Sakura

Delicious Yakitori

You should eat here - they even have an English menu!

Places We Visited:
Arashiyama (Tenryuji and Okochi Sanso)
Kawaramachi
Yakitori Torisee

Read about the rest of our trip:
Kiyomizudera, Nanzenji, and The Philosopher's Path
Fushimi Inari