Japan Day 4: Part 1 - Kyoto

I thought I didn't really have a full Kyoto experience, having only visited one temple when there were still numerous to be explored. So before we left for Tokyo in mid-day, I woke up earlier to visit Kiyomizu-dera by myself. The temple is open daily 6am-6pm, and I really considered getting up at 6am, but having gone to bed at 2am the previous night, I was pretty proud of myself for waking up at 7:15am. The 30-min walk over was very nice. The air was crisp and people were commuting to work or school. (The cyclists here really have a talent for riding on the sidewalk, avoiding pedestrians, and all the meantime, holding an umbrella up to shield the sun or rain.)

Looking back, I should have woken up to get there at 6am because by the time I arrived, there were hordes of school children on a field trip in Kiyomizu-dera. It was still a very beautiful place, with a great view of Kyoto in the background, but it was not as serene as it could have been, especially at 8am. I lingered a little longer after I finished walking the temple grounds to try to get a drink from the Sound of Feathers waterfall (for health) and attempt to walk the Jishu-jinja shrine (for love), but there were just too many kids in line, or in the way. I managed to get a drink, but there was no way I could do the Jishu-jinja one. Way too many distractions there (ain't that the truth!).







After a nice walk back to the hostel(with a matcha soft serve cone for breakfast), I packed up my stuff and Rick and I went back to the Kyoto Station for the same ramen place before taking the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo.

I was really excited to ride Shinkansen, just to feel how fast it went. The ride duration from Kyoto to Tokyo is 2hrs and 40min, going up to 186 mph. Pretty impressive, right? Plus, Sanrio just made him look so cute!

Here's the video I took from the window (no, I did not fast forward it). Look for the other Shinkansen train passing on the opposite side:



Cool things about the ride:
1. Maybe there was something about the speed or the movement of the train, because it seemed like everyone (including myself) just passed out and fell asleep on train.
2. There's a loud "whoomp" sound when another Shinkansen train passes on the opposite rail.
3. Train attendants always bow when they enter/leave the car (this happens on all trains, not just Shinkansen).

Not so cool:
A little pricey. It was ¥13,520 (USD $161). Almost as much as a one-way plane ticket, probably. Dang, I still owe Rick for this.