両親と遊ぼう！Grand Adventures with Parents, the sequal.

Kyou to Kyoto. (Today and Kyoto. Please enjoy this pun)

Seems that booking a hotel in Kyoto was definitely the way to go as there was just so much to see. Staying at the ANA Crown Plaza Kyoto allowed us to travel easily out to the various places we wished to visit without having to spend hours returning home as I had initially planned.

Nagoya -> Kyoto (Kyoto Day 1) - Golden Temple

Was awake until the wee hours of the morning writing by blog. Much to my own detriment, I did not rest until the sun was in the sky and the day was clearly imminent, thus my usually luxurious 10am wakeup call was anything but. Promised my parents that if they headed to the station for some breakfast from Vie De France, I would join them when they were done.

My obligations as a tour guide were clear and after some time I made my way to the station to meet with my parents and head to Kyoto.

Once in Kyoto we caught the courtesy bus to the hotel which was directly across from 二条城 Nijo Castle. Because my family are awesome and love adventures, we were not content to stop our travels there and ventured out again by bus in the afternoon to the 金閣寺 Golden Temple. Ate kakigouri before perusing the Golden Temple and it's surrounding gardens. This was my second visit to the temple, though it was still a pleasant experience to revisit it with my parents. I was surprised to see a crane poised perfectly on a small island before the temple in such as way as to make for a wonderful photo opportunity.

After the Golden Temple we found a chirimen shop where there were many adorable creations. Mum purchased a little cat purse for dad and I bought a hanging chirimen chain for the month of June with the seasonal hydrangeas and frogs.

(Day two) - Fox temple, Manga Museum and Kyoto Tower

Second day in Kyoto we went to the place I was most anticipating visiting, the 伏 見稲荷大社 ( Fox temple). We woke up early again with much excitement and had a quiet breakfast before catching a taxi to the shrine (dad's idea after the seemingly long bus ride to the golden temple the day before). Seeing the first red torii followed by the giant mon gates brought me much excitement. Were I a kitsune living in Japan, this is where I would most probably have a shrine, or at least come to pay homage yearly. 

 



Venturing on further into the shrine I marveled at the number of fox statues, some carrying wheat and others messages from the god Inari. Stopping before the massive main shrine building the jingle of my 5円 signaled the beginning of possibly one of the most important shrine visits of my life, my ultimate 初詣 hatsumōde . It was during this time that I achieved a state of such calmness and presence in the moment that my mind cleared and my innermost thoughts were audible. 
 Disclaimer : To those without a mind for minds, you would probably call it some form of "spirituality"...don't :D
However,  my darling mother hardly understood the importantce of the moment and mid prayer she interupted me with question about where the toilet was. My mind reminded me that distractions become chances to practice tollerance and compassion. ^_^


Climbing to one of the bunsha (sub-shrines) on the mountain, my original intention was so climb the 4 kilometers, 2 hours to the very top of the mountain although the humidity of the Japanese 梅雨 Tsuyu (wet season) defeated me. Making a vow that when my tanuki comes to visit we shall climb to the top together, I began my descent.





On the way down there was a small cafe where I enjoyed kitsune udon and amazake.

After meeting up with my parents who wished to head to the monkey shrine following the fox one, we parted again after arriving back at Kyoto station and I took the bus back to the hotel in order to walk to the  Manga Museum.

Manga Museum which had been suggested by my dear friend Alex, was rather interesting and enjoyable. Especially enjoyable was the room with manga ordered by year as there were a few that surprised me in terms of which manga were released before others. Savoring the taste of the maccha cheese cake and latte while chatting with Michael,who was originally from Perth though had spent the last year traveling Asia, was likewise pleasant and has encouraged me to strengthen my resolve to eventually travel beyond Japan to explore the rest of Asia and indeed the world.

Proceeding the Manga Museum Michael allowed me to tag along with him and we wandered down the shopping street, neither of us with enough money to actually purchase anything, down to the station and Kyoto Tower. $7 to the top. The view was utterly breathtaking with so many famous buildings and shrines visible and we were lucky enough for a cease in the rain that had been fairly relentless given the imminent rainy season.

Kyoto Tower - Sunset over Kyoto on one side - Full moon on the other - magical!

Had curry udon and maccha kakikouri (slightly addicted at present) for dinner before saying goodbye to Michael and wishing him the best on the remainder of this travels. Walking through the station it caught my attention that someone was following me looking at my bag, it was at this point when my second friend of the day was made. Got chatting and he enjoyes reading manga and loves Evangelion also, though quickly realized that the last bus would leave soon and had to scramble. Missed the bus anyway...so I got a taxi. (thank you Mum)

Kyoto -> Nagoya (Day Three) - Nara - Todaiji

Dear dear deer, you are my friend. (Please refer to post titled "Dear dear deer, you were tasty" ) Caught the train to Nara (how clever we are) and met two other Australian women in the carriage where my parents chatted with them about the things they had enjoyed in Japan so far. Arriving at Nara we realized it would be quite a walk so my father decided to take a taxi to the center of the park.










Bought some senbei and the assault came swiftly from all directions. Deer swarmed, nipped, headbutted and generally misbehaved their way, into our way, until the senbei was out.




Mum and myself ventured towards the   東大寺 Todai-ji or Daibutsu the sheer size of which made it look as though it could happily cater to a family of giants and indeed it does in a way, with a giant iron cast buddah at it center and massive awe inspiring statues all around. After praying and purchasing a deer charm Mum and myself headed back to where Dad had been seated, expecting him to be less than happy after being left for half an hour. Quite on the contrary my father had enjoyed watching people be assulted by the deer until they lost their senbei. Lunch was kitsune udon again before we headed back to Kyoto station then back to Nagoya on the Shinkansen.

Nagoya (two days left)

Upon returning to Nagoya my parents and mysef had a short rest though the schedual was rather relentless with so many things to show them. We all slept in the following day before heading to Nagoya to look at an electrical shop that Dad had seen when we were leaving for Kyoto on the Shinkansen. The building was 7 floors of electronics and both Dad and myself managed to find the items we were looking for. I love my new Bose headphones <3 They sound absolutely amazing and are so enjoyable to listen to. That afternoon we had also planned to head to Osu Kannon to find a number of items that Mum was searching for, though did not make it and so it was promised for the following day.

In the evening my parents got to meet the Toyoda family who looked after me for three months last exchange. Etsuko and Remi were gracious hosts and cooked marvelous food that my parents really seemed to enjoy despite my mother being unwell and hardly eating any. The highight of the dish was probably the tempura as Etsuko knows that it's one of my favorite foods.

 Nagoya (one day left)

The plan was to make this Mum's day of shopping and since selling my soul the previous day to finance the headphones, there would be no questioning or complaining. However, when passing the front dest and waving goodbye Yoshida-san stopped me and asked what time that day my parents would be leaving Ihouse. 0.0 The day was spent then finding and relocating to the hotel, though once we were settled there was time for Mum and myself to shop. Stayed at the hotel that night.

 

 Nagoya (Final day)

Parents went to get breakfast while I grabbed some more sleep. We traveled to Kanayama, then to Nagoya station and found our way to the gate of the Shinkansen line. The Goodbye was not my usual "see you later" Goodbye but more of a "was fun while it lasted"though it was a somber reminder of how paths diverge and people grow. Choking back tears I texted a close friend "...and I'm alone again" to which I got no reply, how apt.

Like King Kong on his final desperate attempt to escape the helicopters, or a cat who just heard the vacuum cleaner, I sout a high place. Wishing to view the city that has become my home. Longing to be reminded of my life here instead of letting my heart be tugged back to Australia where so many nostalgic places and beloved people reside. I'm pleased to say that what was my first visit to Nagoya TV Tower, was successful and as I read the letter left for me by my parents the comfortable feeling of quiet acheivement mixed with a sense of clarity about what was ahead, assured me of my path.





We are all traveling. Through life, through time, through adventures and trials. Traveling on paths that meet and diverge, twist and turn, sometimes double back. We chose our travel companions and journey with them, sometimes indefinitely and sometimes until we can both journey no more. These are my travels and this is my journey.