My folks originally just wanted to go to Tokyo and Osaka, but we managed to convince them that Kyoto was worth a visit. We wanted to squeeze in Nara, too, but that wouldn’t leave much time for Osaka exploring anymore. In any case, these are the photos from Kyoto on our full day there. We left pretty early in the day because we wanted to be back in Osaka (for more exploring) at a reasonable hour. Plus, our flight was at 9:50 a.m. the next day.

I think there are three lines that go to Kyoto from Osaka—JR, Hankyu, and the Shinkansen or bullet train—correct me if I’m wrong. We rode the Hankyu line from the Umeda station and headed straight towards Arashiyama, which is on the left side of Kyoto. We had a hard time narrowing down which places to visit, since there is an abundance of that in Kyoto, but we ended up picking Arashiyama, which I’ve never been to before, because of the bamboo forest/path, the Gion area because geishas, and Fushimi Inari-taisha, making our way across Kyoto from left to right, then back to Osaka by about 4 p.m.

My parents couldn’t stop gushing about how beautiful Kyoto was. My dad even said that if you were already in Osaka and didn’t pass by Kyoto, it would be a dumb move. Everything feels like it’s frozen in time, almost. Absolutely beautiful; I’m glad they enjoyed this short leg, even though our feet were on fire by the time we got back to Namba in Osaka.

I didn’t realize that I didn’t take out my camera when we went around Osaka. I think I might have a few photos in my dad’s point-and-shoot that my sister brought around. Anyway, this might actually be the last of the Japan posts, as far as digital pictures go. I have a bunch of film clips and photographs that I have to sort through.

Thank you for reading! It is cherry blossom season now ’round those parts, and I am supremely jealous of everyone who is in Japan right now, because as overrated or unspecial sakura might seem, seeing pockets of them in full bloom is really quite magical.

My entire blog was deleted in June 2014, and I’ve been reuploading old posts. This is a republished post from April 2014.
Original URL: http://nothingspaces.com/blog/2014/04/one-day-in-kyoto/