Kyoto aka: Kyouto,京都

I loved Kyoto. The many shrines, the (compared to Tokyo) crowd-free streets, the vegetarian food (I was veggie when I visited).

The people are so friendly (even if they don’t speak your language!) and eveything is so beautiful. I can’t wait to go back!! You really need to spend a good 3 or 4 days to really drink in whats going on, especially if you’re a bit of a history and culture nut like me :)

I’ve read Memoirs of a Geisha a gizillion times and it has made me want to see Kyoto and escpecially Gion. I want to walk the Shijo avenue and see the Ichiriki tea house. hehe I don’t even know if they exist, but I want to see the arcitecture, the whole embience of Japan.

I don’t know where to start, but if you go to Japan, you simply have to visit Kyoto.

Visited in February 2006.

You must:
- walk up the hill to the cemetery and pass under the red gates,
- walk through Gion and try to spot a maiko or geisha (and even if you don’t the architecture is beautiful),
- have a look at the little alleys full of tiny bars that seat 5 people,
- go to the undercover arcades and look at the fascinating shops,
- rent a bicycle from your hotel or a nearby department store and go exploring,
- listen to the distinctive tune that the crosswalk plays in the old part of town!