Road Trip to Miyazu

On July 14, we took went on an impromptu two-hour drive north to a part of Kyoto Prefecture on the Sea of Japan. Our destination was Miyazu City, home of Amanohashidate, a scenic sand bar that was once called one of Japan's three most beautiful views by the scholar Hayashi Razan in 1643. It really was a beautiful sight and a fun tourist attraction.

The meaning of Amanohashidate is bridge in heaven derived from the idea that if you look at the sand bar upside down it looks like a bride into the sky. We joined all the Japanese tourists in gazing at the sand bar with our heads through our knees. It was a little hard to imagine it, and we heard many choruses of Japanese tourists saying, “I don't get it!”

For dinner, we visited a restaurant called "Tondaya" that was highly rated on Tabelog. Apparently everyone else decided to end their day trips to Miyazu at Tondaya also, because we had to wait an hour to get a table! Fortunately the he wait was worth it. We ate a yummy beef dish, fresh grilled clams, and squid and eggplant tempura.

Golden Week 2: Kyoto

The second day of our two-day pass was spent going to Kyoto. My parents had been to central Kyoto on their previous trip to Japan, so this time we went to Arashiyama in the northwest part of the city.

Arashiyama is famous for its bamboo-lined walking path. It's also home to Tenryuji temple, one of Kyoto's five most famous temples. We also went to the nearby Kinkakuji, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, another one of the big five.

On our way home from Kyoto, we stopped in downtown Kobe and ate Okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is one of the most famous foods in the Kansai region, and in my opinion, one of the best Japanese foods that hasn't really been exported much to the rest of the world. It is often described as a savory pancake, but that doesn't really do it justice. This particular okonomiyaki had less batter and used egg as a binding. Make sure you try it if you ever visit Japan!

Weekend in Kyoto

After being in Japan for six months, we were finally able to make it to Kyoto. Kyoto is about two hours away, and there is so much to do there, so spending the night makes the trip worth while. After putting off going for so long, we finally decided on this weekend because it was the one after Becky's birthday and because there was a big flea market happening.

Every first visit to Kyoto has to start with a look around Kyoto station. The station can be described as '90's futuristic', and while the exterior feels a little bit dated, the interior is nothing less than impressive!

Kyoto has several famous flea markets. Most of them are held once a month and almost always on the same date. This means they often don't fall on a weekend. We went to the Kobo flea market at Toji temple. It is one of the biggest and most famous monthly flea markets in Kyoto, and its layout is also fairly chaotic. Its wares are very eclectic and include crafts, fresh produce, antiques, and vintage kimono and fabrics, to name a few.

Eating fried mochi

The rain dampened the mood a little, but it didn't stop us from having a great time. We picked up some vintage Gion Festival dango (dumpling) plates, a vintage hand bag for Becky, and a one hundred plus year old Meji era print.

Meiji era print advertising a fabric company

For dinner we went to the fantastic efish cafe, which has great food, a beautiful interior, and a range of great home products for sale. After dinner, we made a quick stop at Hanjiro, a clothing store that sells a mix of vintage and new items and has one of the best interior designs in Kyoto. Photos aren't aloud inside but I got a few shots of the amazing foyer, which is probably the best part anyway.

For dessert, we went to Cafe Independants, a cafe that has a bit of a French cafe feel but with all the attention to detail that Japanese interior designers strive for. We were there too late to check it out this time, but adjacent to the cafe is a record store where my older brother usual drools over rare Japanese experimental albums.

Day two started on the path to Kiyomizu Temple. We found a route that took us through a cemetery that was anything less than impressive.

Kiyomizu Temple is one of the most famous in Japan, known especially for its massive wood beams that are joined without nails. Roaming around the temple made us marvel at how much care was put into creating a building that honored Buddha. This is in contrast to a large portion of the current American church that either refuses to build impressive buildings out of a poverty mentality or builds them more for the church members in mind and not to honor God. Kiyomizu Temples is quite inspiring.

Rocks wearing aprons

From there we walked down a popular tourist road and through some of the many historic streets of Kyoto. The sun came out in the afternoon, and we just enjoyed exploring and ambling for most of the day.

We're 90% sure this was a non-geisha dressing up for a fantasy photo-shoot.

On our way home to Miki, we stopped at Harborland in Kobe. Why would we stop when we were exhausted after a weekend of constant walking? To visit a statue honoring the memory of Elvis Presley of course!