The national holidays of Japan are few and far between. However there is one which is highly anticipated above all else - the Chrismas break of Japan: Golden Week. Three consecutive days off**
May 3rd (憲法記念日) Constitution Day
May 4th (みどりの日) Greenery Day
May 5th (こどもの日) Children's Day
combined with the weekend add up to quite a vacation for those who do not belong to the government or an educational institution's sport club/team (they never get a break).
**NOTE: The April 29th holiday - (昭和の日) Showa Day - is also included into this, with people sometimes taking off work in between the days to extend the holiday.
As for me, I had special reason to celebrate - no, not my birthday - the coming of my dear >great<> aunt...Titi Evelyn.
She was to arrive on the first of May and return on the tenth. With such a length og time I wanted to introduce her to the real Japan, by taking her to a place I had never been to before - Kyoto. The reunion in Osaka (where she had flown to from Tokyo's Narita Airport) caused a burst of emotion that was quite unexpected. Ah well.
We checked into our hotel which turned out to be next to the train tracks.
I'm serious.
We were walking down the hall. There was a door at the end of the hall. A loud noise was heard- the passing of a train. A shadow moved across the frosted window. And again. And again. We turned to each other with questions in our eyes. Once we felt it was safe, we went to the door and turned the handle. Surprisingly, it opened and we looked down and saw the tracks.
Classy.
May 2nd
The next day we made our way to the station were we met up with Juliana, the girl I went to South Korea with. After we picked her up, we headed to the Osaka Castle for a bit of site-seeing. What a load of hooey. I've never seen such a tourist trap. The outside was shining and brilliant since I had last seen it. I was very excited to go inside, since my last visit had me waiting outside while certain boys took FOREVER. However, the inside had been hollowed out into a kitschy museum that was full of nothing. I sound upset. I beg pardon.
Next we headed out to Kyoto by train and then walked to our ryokan-style hostel, where we'd be staying for the next few days. Located in the north of Kyoto, it was quite pleasant and calm with easy bus access. That night we had okonomiya, which has been called "Japanese-style" pizza. IF you were to actually look/try this dish, you would find that the Western hemisphere has not been consulted on taste.
May 3rd
The day was spent in an exploration of temples, shrines, a
nd mountains. We started with Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺) the Golden Pavilion, which was originally built in the 14th century and covered with pure gold leaf. Originally intended as a villa, it was later converted into a Zen temple.
Next was the climb of Arashiyama, home to Iwatayama Monkey Park, otherwise known as free-for-all monkeys! As we climbed up the steep slope, there were these cute girls that kept crying about how scary the monkeys were. So I helped the mother by holding one of the daughter's hands as she carried the other. It got to the point where I ended up picking the little girl up! We met the most beautiful girl in kimono along the way back. We also had the chance to pose with a maiko.
Her proud papa is just beaming in the background. Her younger sister can be seen peeking from behind her father's legs. Of course, I had to play creepy tourist and ask to take a picture in Japan. Luckily, they didn't seem to mind.
May 4thAnother round of sight-seeing, but as the day before seemed to satisfy the group of Kyoto religious buildings, I suggested a day trip to Nara which took fruit. Nara was the first capital of Japan, afterward came Kyoto and finally Tokyo. We went to the Fushimi Inari Shrine in southern Kyoto first, as anyone who has seen Memoirs of a Geisha will immediately recognize the stream of orange gates stacked closely together. Inari is the Shinto God of business, so businesses across Japan have purchased a tori = gate in patronage.
Nara was next. Nara Park can boast that it holds some of the most interesting structures in the world, including the Tōdai-ji (東大寺 = Eastern Great Temple), which is not only the largest wooden structure in the world - but hosts one of the largest Buddha statues in the world.
May 5th
My aunt and I visited different places in Kyoto our last day:
Kyoto Botanical Garden
Kyoto Imerial Palace
Nijo Castle with its famous Nightingale floors
Kyoto International Manga Museum
