Kyoto Kankou

Matsuri is a sport!

Hey there,

Well, I had an extremely exciting, unique, and painful experience at this years Summer Taiko Matsuri. I recommend that everyone, everywhere go to the Kyoto area around summer time. Every major area seems to have it own way to celebrate. The festivals has ancient roots related to fun things like flooding and disease; trust me, its a blast.

This particular matsuri (festival) involves a bunch of men to lift and extremely heavy shrine and some kids to play drums inside of it. We carried it through the streets of Yawata for 3 days, drinking and shouting along the way.

The last day was, for lack of a better term, friggin sweet. 4+ teams of people parade through the local shrine and compete by throwing the shrine in the air and shouting at the top of their lungs. It was as fun as it was dangerous.

There is no real way to describe it, but I will say this - my shoulder was bleeding on the 3rd day. Just check out the pictures. Better yet, get to Japan ASAP and see for yourself.

A few good reasons to stay in Japan

Don't Speak. Just look...

Japanese ビーチ

I was fortunate enough to visit a beach, 天橋立, in Kyoto last weekend. It is actually supposed to be one of the top 3 views in Japan - with good reason. The other top 2 views were the front and back of the women I saw there....what??

So as I was saying, this beach is in the northern part of Kyoto. The beach itself is clean and of course crowded around mid-afternoon.

There wasn't much to do there except eat and enjoy the view, so here are pictures. If you look at the picture upside down it is supposed to look like a dragon winding towards heaven. I purposely posted all of these pictures right-side-up so that you look rediculous in front of your computer.

This awesome, must-see, beach is about 2 hours drive from Kyoto city, and about 3-4 hours by train. It doesn't really matter how long it takes, you HAVE to go anyways. Oh, if you are driving then be prepared to pay about 80 dollars in tolls...

You have to go to the nearby mall, Mipple, too. Just because.

Miyajima, it makes Nara look stupid

Yo kids,

Okay, don't be misled by the title, I don't hate Nara. I just like Miyajima better and I also had a really bad visit to Nara last week. It didn't help that I went on the hottest day EVER. Heads up everyone, Japan gets Extremely humid in the summer. July and August are supposed to be vicious.

Whats was I talking about? Oh yeah, Miyajima wins. Miyajima is an island with lots of deer, has an amazing shrine and water Tori, and
surrounded by others beautiful islands. There is also more Momijimanju than you could ever eat. (momijimanju is a maple leaf shaped sweet filled with various things, particularly bean paste)

Though Hiroshima is a big and busy city, Miyajima is still quiet, secluded, and peaceful. The temples are well maintained and the fee to enter Miyajima temple is pretty reasonable. You don't need to pay anything to go out to the huge Tori, an added bonus.

As for Nara, There are many temples and shrines to visit, but they just didn't keep my interest. Todaiji is a must see, of course, but don't expect the other temples to stand out from anything you might see in Kyoto.

Sorry Nara, Miyajima wins.

Station Kids

I know I mentioned all of the kids that practice stuff at the station before. I finally was able to video one kid. Honestly, this is not his best performance, and his friend is MUCH better, but this should give you an idea of what goes on at the station at night.

Kyoto, my 一番好きな所。。。

Ever since moving out of osaka and closer to Kyoto, I've come to appreciate how amazing Kyoto is. It has a perfect balance of new meets VERY old. 400+ year old temples are surrounded by 100 dollar a plate restaurants. Beautiful rivers and maiko establishments neighbor hostess and members clubs. The famous kiyomizu temple looks over miles and miles of buildings, lights, and trains. Mizu shobai girls wearing less fabric than most of my ties have can be seen walking with classing older women wearing kimono. Kyoto is a confusing and awesome place.

Lately, since it is summer, there have been a lot more outdoor events and concerts by the river which is pretty cool. But with outdoor events comes japanese guys that can't handle their alcohol, so just watch wear you step at night.

If you can only visit one city in Japan, I recommend Kyoto. The only problem with Kyoto is too many damn foreigners! yeah, I said it. Most of the pictures I post later will likely be in Kyoto, so enjoy!

Not Exactly Cultural

Japanese Snacks....no, not スナック

Hey hey,

Yes, I will talk a bit more about food. Maybe this will be the last one for a while. (oh, by the way, a snack bar in Japan is a place where men pay large amounts of money to talk to pretty and older women. Just a note)

Anyways, I've seen some very different, and very delicious snacks in Japan these past few months. There are so many unique and interesting things to try. One of my (and all my friends' ) favorites is the one on the left. Have you ever heard of mayonaise and ketchup flavored chips?? You have now! Those are also good.

Apple kitkats, taco doritos, custard ritz...these are just a few of the most delicious things ever that are nowhere to be found in America. However, many foods in Japan are seasonal, so next month I might not be able to find those things in Japan either.

Don't be concerned or confused about odd snack names in Japan. Just try them, they're umai, I promise.

Dessert, the Japanese way...

Hey all,

To keep up with the food theme, I want to tell you about a little parfait shop in Kyoto. Actually, there is nothing little about this store except for the waists on the women who walk in. This particular store (I can't remember the name, sorry) sells an 一万円 parfait, thats a hundred dollar parfait. Yeah...take a look for yourselves.

You need to give the store 3 days notice before purchasing this parfait. There must be 20 entire fruits in it, so I guess thats to be expected. You also need to make a 20-30 dollar (2000 - 3000 yen) down payment. A down payment on a parfait....thats a new one.

Japan has now truly perfected the parfait.

Don't feel like paying a hundred dollars for icecream or waiting 3 days?? Thats cool, just go to the arcade and win ice cream from the claw game....kudos Japan.

P.S. If anyone sees my parents, tell them to send me a hundred dollars.