Cultural sightseeing in Kyoto(!)
Finding parking in Kyoto was a manic experience to say the least - the venue, Whoopee's, was right on a main street and in stark contrast to the almost-invisible-from-the-outside Organ's Melody. Whoopee's was also massive inside, but with a very bizarre layout with a triangular stage facing 45 degrees away from the main standing area of the venue. The lineup for the evening was good - mainly math-rock bands, but with sounds not a million miles away from our own. Sadly though, the size of the venue meant that a good atmosphere never really arose - a big shame after such a warm, intimate vibe from Yamaguchi the night before. Nevertheless, we felt that our performance was one of our best on the tour so far. Special mention should go to Sow, a young band from Osaka who had only been playing together for 6 months, but whose tight and energetic performance suggested a far more established act.
The (slightly odd) stairway down to Whoopee's
Fumi rocking the house
We were lucky to have Yoshi, a friend of Adam's, offer us a place to stay for our next few nights in Kyoto, so we made tracks to his house right after the gig. Yoshi's newly-renovated house was sparklingly clean, and a brilliant mix of traditional Japanese styles - tatami flooring and the like - and modern Japan, including remote controls for everything, including the oven and even the bath (allowing one to set the temperature of the water whilst still upstairs)!
The steps up to Kiyomizu-Dera
Kiyomizu-Dera
Ceremonial washing at Kiyomizu-Dera
We spent the next two days sightseeing around Kyoto, utilising the extensive bus system. The buses was a welcome break for drivers Dave and Mike, although at times they seemed to crawl along at a snail's pace. The first day we visited Kiyomizu-Dera, a wooden temple/shrine with beautiful views over the city. The site was an odd mix of serene altars and shrine buildings, and touristy stalls selling good luck charms for traffic safety and curing relationship woes.
Nutritious snacks
Also available: 'Deepen Relationship' for 1,000 yen. An indication that finding love is easier than keeping it?!
After wandering around the place we hopped on the bus again to the Philosopher's path, a scenic walk beside a small canal, lined with tea shops and cicada-filled trees, and ending with the entrance to a beautiful palace called Ginkaku-ji. This so-called silver palace was originally the house of Yoshimasa Ashikaga, and boasts perfectly sculpted lawns of sand, and a network of ponds and streams amongst manicured trees and bushes. Like the rest of the shrines and palaces we visited in Kyoto, visitors are not allowed inside the buildings themselves, but the visual experience of the gardens easily makes up for this.
View overlooking Ginkaku-ji
The following day, we visited the 'modest' (Mike's words) golden palace 'Kinkaku-ji' - the pad (Adam's words) of Yoshimitsu Ashikaga. Overlooking a large pond, this dazzling structure and its grounds were apparently where Yoshimitsu would attempt to gain peace - seemingly whilst an army of workers tended the trees and shrubs that appeared even more extremely manicured than that of Ginkaku-ji. We then hopped on a bus to Arashiyama, a lovely district divided by a wide, lazy river, for yet another green tea ice cream cone and some lunch. It wasn't Adam's day as he managed to spill his cone down his t-shirt and then have an episode (best described with the video re-enactment below) with an unnecessarily powerful water fountain when cleaning himself up.
At the Golden Palace
Yoshimitsu was a fan of treehouses
Yuka by the river at Arashiyama
Watching the boats from the bridge
Fun with the water fountain - well done to Non for not taking the bait!
After lunch we got in the van and headed out on our last long journey of the tour back to Tokyo, arriving in the late evening to check in to our hostel. For once, absolutely nothing of note happened during the journey - it seems that after three weeks on the road, we have finally tamed our unreliable satnav (earlier named Miho, apparently a common name for prostitutes in Japan, for her constant disobedience)!
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