Momentary Musings: Japan

The last stop on my trip to Asia was Japan - where I spent time in Tokyo and Kyoto. Japan was my favorite place of the three I visited. The people were friendly, everything was clean, and organized, and logical, and well-run. It was pretty awesome. I took approximately a billion pictures in Japan, and I was there for over a week - so I saw a lot. I'll try to whittle it down to the highlights.

I went to Tokyo first. I saw Akihabra - the electronics district, Shibuya & the Tokyo Times Square, Harajuku and the crazy Japanese youngsters. There were also some great shrines. The really cool thing is that I managed to be there during the Japanese 3-5-7 holiday. During this holiday they dress up their 3 year old girls, 5 year old boys, and 7 year old girls in kimono and take them out to the shrines for pictures and blessings. They were adorable.

Akihabra - Electronics District

3-5-7 girl at Maji Shrine

Kyoto was next. Again, I was fantastically lucky. It turned out that the Japanese maples were changing into their fall colors, so the elaborate temple gardens were an absolute sight to behold.

Kinkaku-ji - one of the most breathtaking Temples

Ginkaku-ji had some of the most beautiful gardens

I stayed in a Ryokan in Kyoto - which is the closest you'll get to staying in a Japanese home (unless you find a japanese home to stay in) The Inn was run by three sisters, you leave your shoes at the door, and sleep on a futon on the floor. It was a great experience. And the service was wonderful. The people were very sweet and eager to help me.