Kyoto

When Mary, Matt and I were in Kyoto, we went shopping, sang karaoke, walked around Gion, saw a few sites, relaxed at a beautiful new onsen, and watched the Aoi Festival parade.

Karaoke is a lot different in Japan than in the US. Mary, Matt, and I rented a little private karaoke room with a tv, karaoke machine, microphones, and surround sound. Plus it's all you can drink. You pay per person per hour. It's kind of fun to have your own little private party while you're out, but you have to go with fun people like Matt and Mary. Singing hams usually aren't that fun to go with.

One of our favorite places to eat in Kyoto was a sushi restaurant where the sushi goes around a conveyor belt and you just take the ones you want as they go by your table or place setting. The sushi was really delicious too. When you're done, a woman counts how many empty plates you have and charges you about $1.25 per plate. This was my view from my seat at the counter. The conveyor belt was moving clockwise.


As for the Kyoto sites, we went to Kinkakuji (the temple of the Golden Pavilion), Ryoanji (the temple of the rock garden), and the Monkey Park in the Arashiyama area. The Monkey Park was pretty big ans the monkeys are allowed to go anywhere in the park. We were able to feed them from the inside of the feeding lounge at the top of the hill. We fed them peanuts and apples. While we were there one of the monkeys peed on another monkey below him and there was a small monkey brawl! There was also a really cute baby monkey but it's mom kept on taking the food that people were giving it.


The Aoi Festival on May 15th is about 1400 years old had is celebrated as an offering to gods for a good harvest. Geraniums and horses with bells were paraded from the Imperial Palace to two temples where they were offered to the gods. The people in the parade were dressed in very formal, traditional kimonos, but they didn't really look like they were into the festival because they looked bored and a few were using their cellphones as they walked down the street. The simplicity and lack of excitement that this festival had made me realize just how awesome and fun the Awa Odori Festival in Tokushima City is in August. Dancing through the streets like a fool is much more fun than silently carrying flowers.