kyoto part 2
Okay, I'm on my way back up to Tokyo and find myself back in Kansai, so what better way to spend it than to check out some more of Kyoto. Heading down south from Tokyo when I first started this trip, Kyoto only got a day (and a bit to be fair) of my time and what I saw overall left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Deciding that ALL the travel writers in the world can't be wrong, I came back to this little bit of supposed paradise - actually I'm staying in Osaka again and travelling up for the day like last time because once again accommodation is impossible to find at late notice. Maybe this is my problem as Elaine (as in Elaine and Carl, the two Australians from U-en Guesthouse) mentioned that Gion is superb after dark.
So there I was on another daytime trip to the city. I tried to move about a bit more and see a greater variety of sights than last time. First of after arriving I made a beeline for the subway and headed north out of the central station area to the International Manga Museum since they were having a cosplay (read: dress up) day on. On a large lawn in front of the museum was an area for the cosplayers to lounge around, have picnics, take photos and generally tell each other how great their costumes were. It was great, and slightly intimidating if I'm honest, although not in costume I wasn't allowed onto the lawn so it's not too bad. I wish I'd had something put together actually.
Anyway, onward into the museum where there were many, many (and I do mean many) manga compilations on bookshelves spread across three floors; their aim is to have the largest collection of manga in any language in the world. Beyond the reading spaces, where people can come in and read the manga just like in a library, there were exhibition spaces weaving their way throughout this ex-junior elementary school including one that charted an early manga artist from the 1800's who developed some of the modern day elements you would associate with the medium (I'm afraid his name escapes me for the moment).
After that, I wandered, anywhere and everywhere to the east of the river. Through Gion - during the day it is a beautiful place with geisha clacking around the streets in their wooden shoes. At one point I got lost in an expansive graveyard, built up a steep hillside on small plateau's with interconnecting stairways, and I'm pretty sure that I ended up in a place I was meant to pay to enter.
This was a much more satisfying trip to this city and one that has made me want to visit again, with enough planning so that I have some accommodation here and can experience the place after the sun goes down.
Deciding that ALL the travel writers in the world can't be wrong, I came back to this little bit of supposed paradise - actually I'm staying in Osaka again and travelling up for the day like last time because once again accommodation is impossible to find at late notice. Maybe this is my problem as Elaine (as in Elaine and Carl, the two Australians from U-en Guesthouse) mentioned that Gion is superb after dark.
So there I was on another daytime trip to the city. I tried to move about a bit more and see a greater variety of sights than last time. First of after arriving I made a beeline for the subway and headed north out of the central station area to the International Manga Museum since they were having a cosplay (read: dress up) day on. On a large lawn in front of the museum was an area for the cosplayers to lounge around, have picnics, take photos and generally tell each other how great their costumes were. It was great, and slightly intimidating if I'm honest, although not in costume I wasn't allowed onto the lawn so it's not too bad. I wish I'd had something put together actually.
Anyway, onward into the museum where there were many, many (and I do mean many) manga compilations on bookshelves spread across three floors; their aim is to have the largest collection of manga in any language in the world. Beyond the reading spaces, where people can come in and read the manga just like in a library, there were exhibition spaces weaving their way throughout this ex-junior elementary school including one that charted an early manga artist from the 1800's who developed some of the modern day elements you would associate with the medium (I'm afraid his name escapes me for the moment).
After that, I wandered, anywhere and everywhere to the east of the river. Through Gion - during the day it is a beautiful place with geisha clacking around the streets in their wooden shoes. At one point I got lost in an expansive graveyard, built up a steep hillside on small plateau's with interconnecting stairways, and I'm pretty sure that I ended up in a place I was meant to pay to enter.
This was a much more satisfying trip to this city and one that has made me want to visit again, with enough planning so that I have some accommodation here and can experience the place after the sun goes down.
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: kyoto part 2.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.littlelosttokyo.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-t.cgi/27
Leave a comment