Kyoto

Monday morning led us to the train station and we hopped a ride to Kyoto which took about 3 hours. Kyoto gleamed with brilliant shopping centers, pachinko arcades, and shrines dating back several thousand years. My favorite district was in Gion, the former Geisha district prior to WWII. The streets were clean and dimly lit with lanterns that reflected off dark wooden buildings that today serve as home to Japanese style restaurants and shops.We decided to stay in a traditional Japanese style hotel. A beautiful, old woman in a Kimono led us to our room where we removed our shoes and stepped onto a bamboo mat-lined surface. A low table lay before us along with two silk red cushions where we sat indian style and sipped on green tea poured for us by our host. Sun hit the rice paper sliding door that led into a separate sitting room where we could share dinner or relax. We opted to hit up the hot springs instead that are common throughout Japan. Before doing so, we had to change into some fancy robes, which I found to be quite comfy and stylish...Now, Japanese hot springs are completely natural - no chlorine. So it's important to enter the bath as clean as possible. The baths are split up into men's and women's - when you enter the bath room, you get completely naked and sit on a little chair equipped with a faucet, pail, and soap/shampoo/face wash. So - yeah, I thought that would be awkward. You know, sitting on a small stool scrubbin' down with other women around, but I was alone and eventually slipped into the hot spring, a nice way to wind down after our long week of traveling.

Mike toured me around the city, which he knew pretty well.
We explored the shopping district and filled up on Shabu Shabu, a traditional Japanese-style meal. We took our shoes off at the door and relaxed on bamboo mats while we cooked our dinner in a large pot filled with boiling water that was served by a charming lady in a Kimono.

After dinner, we got to check out a Japanese video game arcade and took some shots in a Japanese photo booth. Pachinko is HUGE over there, but we were terrible at it! It literally felt like we were in one of those cages at the circus that house extreme motorcyclists who ride upside down. Just roaring loud - neon lights and the sound of pinballs EVERYWHERE!! We could not take the excitement any more and cabbed it home for a full night of sleep.