Kyoto Travel Guide
4/28/2008 at 9:30 AM
Tags: Frugal Traveler, Matt Gross, New York Times, Japan Travel (all tags)
Our favorite frugal traveler Matt Gross seems to like our style because we mentioned the beauty of Kyoto last week. In this weekend's New York Times, Matt gave us some insights into a few more enticing parts of this stunning Japanese city, and we've got to admit, it still sounds good.
For example, at the Nanzenji Temple Matt found swarms of tourists at the front--but kept walking to find one of those quiet, soul-searching shrines that give you a sense of the real Japan. He also recommended the Nijo Castle and Arashiyama as good sightseeing destinations, overpopulation with tourists notwithstanding.
The best part was that Matt managed his weekend in Kyoto frugally--because like much of Japan, it ain't cheap. Big tip: Hit the bottom floor of department stores where food halls offer heaps of free samples, saving you the cost of a meal.
Related Stories:
· Seeking Tranquility on Less Than $200 A Day [NYT]
· Japanese Summer: Hit the Gion Matsuri in Kyoto [Jaunted]
· Kyoto Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Hyougushi]
by amandak
4/25/2008 at 10:00 AM
Tags: Japan Travel, Summer Festivals, Festivals (all tags)
With the deluge of cherry blossoms and sake pretty much over in Japan, they're looking ahead to their collection of summer festivals (and sake drinking).
One of the most famous is the Gion Matsuri held every July in Kyoto. Although the festival itself officially runs all month, the day you want to be there is July 17 when a line of thirty or so floats head out from Yasaka shrine to parade around the city center.
It'll be a crowded day full of drums and dancing and all the bright colors of Japanese traditions, but you should still make time at the end of the day for a sake or three. The good news is the festival all started to please the gods who cause fire, floods and earthquakes, so you should be pretty safe during your stay.
Related Stories:
· Gion Matsuri [JNTO]
· Blossom Gazing and Sake Drinking Delayed [Jaunted]
· Kyoto Travel Guide [Jaunted]
[Photo: skasuga]
by amandak
3/13/2008 at 9:15 AM
Tags: Nature, Sightseeing, Japan Travel (all tags)
The unpredictable blooming of cherry blossom trees must be a real source of frustration for the punctual, orderly Japanese. Last year, the blossoms arrived early; this year, the prediction is they'll bloom ten days later than normal.
That means that Tokyo should have cherry blossoms by March 26, Osaka by March 30, and the mountains of Nagano as late as April 16. One of the really beautiful spots to experience hanamizake--drinking sake while looking at cherry blossoms--is in Kyoto, which should have its first blooms by March 29.
If you can get your timing right, this really is a magnificent time of year to check out Japan, and you only need to learn one word of Japanese: kirei. It means "beautiful," and we promise you'll hear it from one end of Japan to the other when the cherry blossom flowers finally arrive.
Related Stories:
· Watch and Weep [SMH]
· Japanese Cherry Blossoms Abuse Schedule [Jaunted]
· Embedded Travel Guide: Osaka [Jaunted]
[Photo: skyseeker]
by amandak
11/27/2007 at 9:15 AM
Tags: Temples, Environment, Japan Travel, Green Travel (all tags)
When your city is the namesake of an environmental protection and emissions control agreement, taking steps to save the planet must come naturally. The temples of Kyoto have become hypersensitive to global warming and have introduced some neat ways to reduce their energy use.
The Kodaiji Temple, for example, installed solar panels to store electricity which runs the night-time illumination. Other temples have replaced night lights with energy-efficient LED lamps. And Tenryuji Temple near Arashiyama in Kyoto has been clever enough to open earlier during summer so people can look around the temple longer using natural light.
Reduced lighting bills at these beautiful Japanese temples is a good start, but it's probably the lighting at those ever-luminous love hotels that they need to turn down a bit.
Related Stories:
· Kyoto Temples Taking Action to Save Energy [Daily Yomiuri]
· Kyoto Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Green Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: EugeniusD80]
by amandak
11/15/2007 at 9:35 AM
Tags: Japan Travel, Food, Local Culture (all tags)
Fans of Japanese food, listen carefully. Go World just pointed us towards the perfect outing for you if you're visiting the ancient (and gorgeous) city of Kyoto, and if you're wanting to take your love of Japanese food to the next level.
Organized by the Women's Association of Kyoto, visitors to Japan are given the opportunity to go into a local home and learn a new skill. Learning how to cook some Japanese food is a popular excursion, and you can also learn how to wear a kimono, fold some origami, arrange flowers or participate in a tea ceremony, all in a normal, everyday Japanese apartment.
This one-to-one experience doesn't come super-cheap, with a two-hour cooking session costing 16,000 yen ($140), but it gets cheaper if you bring a few friends with you. And for a half a day you can really feel like you're turning Japanese.
Related Stories:
· Kyoto Cooking [Go World]
· Women's Association of Kyoto [Official Site]
· How to: Swing a Samurai Sword [Jaunted]
· Japan Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Joi]
by amandak
11/29/2006 at 9:08 AM
Tags: Japan, Temples, Tourist Attractions (all tags)
Billboards and flashing neon advertising are on their way out in Japan's tourist-laden ancient city of Kyoto. New council regulations, to be phased in over the next 6 years, will ban all rooftop advertising and flashing ads and will also tighten restrictions on building heights, especially near the main tourist sites.
Rules around Kiyomizu Temple--one of the sites nominated as a
New Wonder of the World--are especially strict. Within a 500 meter radius, colors and shapes must all fit the "natural harmony" of the World Heritage site. A Kyoto official gave the government's reasoning: without the new rules,
We will fail to pass on the distinguished scenery of the ancient city to future generations.
Enough said. Just don't expect to see flashing Coca Cola signs or any of the Tokyo lights we love so much if you head to Kyoto's most prized sights. Arigatou.
[Photo:
P F C]
Related Stories:
·
Kyoto To Ban Flashing Neon [Daily Yomiuri]
·
The New 7 Wonders [Jaunted]
by amandak
6/16/2005 at 3:45 PM
Tags: Travel Hell, Stories Abroad (all tags)
One never knows the hysterical moments to be encountered when traveling the world. Take the case of 'Azrael' and his
editorial collection about his experiences as an asst. language teacher in three junior high schools in Kyoto, Japan. There are some real gems here, like:
One day after class, a ninensei girl walked up to me, and out of nowhere proudly exclaimed "Spread your legs!" Perhaps mistaking the look of shocked bewilderment on my face for misunderstanding, she stuck her chest out and repeated it even louder - "Spread your legs!"
She then produced a book of colloquial English expressions. Apparently, she'd taken the phrase from the police section...you know, "Get out of the car! Against the wall! Spread your legs!" She had just randomly selected "Spread your legs!" and decided to hit me with it one day.
It gets better with such subtopics as "Japanese Kids Say the Darndest Things", "Respect Mah Authority" and "You're Not Your Fake Cornrows."
If you thought junior high was brutal, you ain't seen nothing yet. We wish Azrael all the luck in the world--and hope he keeps up with his hysterical posts.
Related Stories:
· I Am A Japanese School Teacher [Outpostnine.com]
by sedona
