Picture of the Day: Mucha Stained Glass in St. Vitus

St. Vitus Cathedral
Prague, Czech Republic
05.2006

Autumn in Kyoto

Although I've been to Kyoto several times, I've never been during Koyo (colorful leaves) season so I was happy to have the chance to do so today.

First things were first, however. To-ji in Kyoto has a wonderful flea market on the first Sunday of every month so I stopped there before venturing out to see the autumn leaves.  

I always have fun when I go to the To-ji flea market and this time was no exception.  I ended up buying a small abacus (¥500), five glass balls (¥2000), an old milk delivery box (¥2000), and a set of enamel ware soup spoons (¥500). I can't wait to bring my newfound treasures home.

After getting my fill of browsing and bargaining, I headed to Tofuku-ji and Kiyomizu-dera which are Buddhist temples in Kyoto famous for viewing their autumn leaves.  The temples were swarming with tourists so moving around was slow, but the inconvenience was more than made up for by the beauty of the vibrant colors.  My favorite part was the view of the leaves from the bridges over the ravines at Tofuku-ji.  

North American maple trees in the fall are beautiful but there is something especially lovely about the tiny, delicate leaves of the Japanese maples. 

If you are interested, check out the rest of my December 2011 Japan Trip here: Visiting Hieizan Enryaku-ji, Kobe: Luminarie + Beef, Favorite Eats in Toyota-shi, Centrair Airport Bath 

Picture of the Day: Roofline of Wat Xieng Thong

Wat Xieng Thong
Luang Prabang, Laos
08.16.2011 

Kobe: Luminarie + Beef

After spending the day at Hieizan Enryaku-ji I headed to Kobe to see the Kobe Luminarie.  I had been to Kobe before but never had the chance to see the Luminarie so I was excited to be able to do it on this trip.

The Kobe Luminarie is a light festival that began in 1995 as a way to commemorate those lost in the Great Hanshin earthquake.  Held for a few weeks every December, the Luminarie has now also come to celebrate the rebuilding of Kobe.

I had heard from a friend who went last year that the line to get to the Luminarie was very long so I thought that if I arrived at 5 when the lights first turned on the wait would be a little less.  Unfortunately, I was wrong and it took an hour to make it through the line.  Luckily for me I had a companion while I was waiting.  When I left the Sannomiya train station and was trying to figure out how to get to the Luminarie I asked a girl for help and she said that she would just show me since she wanted to go, too.  Unfortunately, my Japanese is not as good as I would like so our conversation was pretty superficial but I learned that Satomi-san lived in Kobe and was in school studying how to make Japanese sweets.  She even gave me a sample sweet that she had made that day in class which was very kind.  It was fun to practice my Japanese and made the wait seem much shorter.

Finally arriving at the lights was impressive.  Huge illuminated gates arch over the street so it looks like you are walking through a tunnel of lights.  The end of the street opens up to a plaza which is decorated with more lights and is ringed by yatai (Japanese food stalls).  Normally I love eating at yatai, but I was in Kobe so I had other plans.  After thanking Satomi-san and saying goodbye I headed to Moriya for a dinner of Kobe beef.

I'm the kind of girl who buys her clothes on eBay and doesn't hesitate to stay in hostels to save money, but I love food and am willing to splurge for nice meals. I chose Moriya because I had read some good reviews and it was conveniently located by Sannomiya station.  I got a 130g A5 Kobe tenderloin that included a crab appetizer.  The server brought out the steak to show me before it was cooked and then I got to watch the chef prepare it.  It was absolutely delicious and made for a wonderful cap on the end of my day. 

If you are interested, check out the rest of my December 2011 Japan Trip here: Visiting Hieizan Enryaku-ji, Autumn in Kyoto, Favorite Eats in Toyota-shi, Centrair Airport Bath

Visiting Hieizan Enryaku-ji

Whenever I come to Japan for work I usually make the most of my weekends by traveling around and this trip was no different.  I decided to spend my Saturday by visiting Enryaku-ji, which is a Buddhist monastary on Hieizan (Mt. Hiei) overlooking Kyoto. Founded in 788, Enryaku-ji is home of the Tendai sect of Buddhism and one of the most important monastaries in Japanese history.

To get to Enryaku-ji I took the train to Sakamoto and from there caught a cable car up Hieizan.  When I first arrived it was a little misty, but within about 15 minutes a steady drizzle began and a heavy fog rolled in.  On the one hand I was a little dissapointed because you had to be nearly on top of something to see it, but on the other hand the fog lent a serenity to the mountain top and drove away some of the other visitors.  It was enchanting to be walking along and see a gorgeous, ancient temple materialize from the fog as I walked toward it, almost as if it appeared from thin air.

My favorite temple that I saw was Kaidan-in, which is where aspiring Tendai sect priests are ordained by receiving the commandments of Buddhism. I was particularly struck by the beautiful but simple doors and I loved the worn patina that the paint had developped over time. No one else was in the grove where the temple is located when I visited which made it even more special. 

On a side note, the walk through Sakamoto between the train and cable car turned out to be a beautiful, unexpected surprise.  The main road was lined with lovely Japanese maple trees that were at the peak of their color making it a lovely walk and adding to my trip.

If you are interested, check out the rest of my December 2011 Japan Trip here: Kobe: Luminarie + Beef, Autumn in Kyoto, Favorite Eats in Toyota-shi, Centrair Airport Bath

Picture of the Day: Tropical Orchids

Golden Rock
Nevis, St. Kitts & Nevis
07.02.2011 

Picture of the Day: Boat Woman on Halong Bay

Halong Bay, Vietnam
08.13.2011

Flying Off Into the Sunset

The upside of my flight to Japan was that I got bumped up from economy to first class.  On a 13 hour flight this is no small thing and makes a huge difference for me in sleeping comfort.  

The downside was that the flight was delayed for an hour due to the airline filming a commercial at our gate, which is the strangest reason I have ever heard of for delaying a flight. There was a silver lining, however.  Due to the late departure, we took off right as the sun was setting and I had a spectacular view out my window.  Right above the horizon the sky was brilliant orange, striated with clouds that faded into a deep navy blue.  Absolutely gorgeous!

Picture of the Day: Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey
11.26.2009

First Trip to Kyoto

Today I am heading back to Japan for a work trip. Japan has played a pivotal role in shaping who I am. It is the foreign country that I've visited the most and the only country outside of the US that I have lived.

My first trip to Japan was back in early April 2006 for a business trip a few months after I had started my job.  I had never been anywhere in Asia before and I was thrilled at the chance to go. Being a work trip I didn't have much free time, of course, but I did have a Sunday off that I used for sightseeing.  With just one day available for a mini trip and already being in Central Japan I decided to go to the obvious choice, Kyoto.

Kyoto is a magical place, full of amazing ancient temples and shrines.  The fact that it was cherry blossom season only enchanted me even more. I visited some of the more famous sights of Kyoto including Nijo-jo, Nishi Hongan-ji, Kinkaku-ji, Sanjusangen-do, Heian-jinja and Kiyomizu-dera, soaking everything in and taking pictures.  

After leaving Kiyomizu-dera I slowly wandered down the hill through the maze of shops and stores back to the road. I saw a trio of Maiko (apprentice geisha) and was impressed with their poise and beautiful kimono. I also had a chance to try Kyoto's famous sweet, yatsuhashi, which is a soft sweet rice flour wrapper with various fillings like sweet red bean. Ever since it has been a favorite special treat for me.

As I rode the Shinkansen from Kyoto back to Nagoya that evening I didn't know that I would eventually live in Japan or even that I would be back on several trips, but I did know that I had a special day and seen some amazing, beautiful places. I'm looking forward to going back...