Turning 40 In Kyoto

They say life begins at 40 and I must say today I "began" life on a good note. I decided to celebrate my 40th birthday in Kyoto because it's considered by many as Japan's most beautiful city. Kyoto served as Japan's imperial city for more than a thousand years before the capital was moved to Tokyo and the city holds 17 world heritage sites. Quite impressive right? since my life was "beginning" today I figured it might as well begin in a fabulous place so Kyoto it was.

I begun my day by having a hearty breakfast of champions courtesy of the guesthouse I am staying at. The breakfast was amazing and included 3 courses! I felt like I was having lunch and it all cost only $5. The first course was carrot soup which tasted really delicious, and some green tea.

Second course was an array of meat and a chocolate filled bagel, delicious!

When I thought I couldn't possible have more room for any more food especially that early in the morning, I was presented with desert. The desert was fruits with yoghurt at the bottom. I finished everything despite being full and I was ready to start my day.

I had booked a city walking tour which was meant to last the whole day basically so I was glad that I had eaten a heavy breakfast because I needed all the energy I could get. I met up with my guide who turned out to be such a cool guy that made the tour fun and very informative, I will briefly highlight some of the stops we made. 

Fushimi Inari Shrine - The two main religions in Japan are Shintoism and Budhism, shrines are related to the Shinto belief and temples are related to Buddhism. Fushimi Inari is an important shrine because it's the head shrine with which all other shrines in the country are affiliated. It's also most famous for its colorful torii gates. Torii gates mark the entrance of a shrine and these orange torii gates you see below have names of companies that paid to have them constructed and erected so that they can have luck in business. 

Heian Shrine - Heian is Kyoto's former name and the shrine is dedicated to the first and last emperor of Kyoto.

Nanzenji Temple - A zen Buddhist temple that has the highest rank of all Japan's zen temples, the surrounding grounds are very pretty by the way.

Traditional Tea House - We stopped at a traditional Japanese tea house which had a really beautiful garden surrounding it and where I had the opportunity to drink matcha tea. It's served without sugar so it has a bitter taste but you are provided with a type of sweet which you can use to accompany the tea, it actually helps take away that bitter taste.

Gion - Kyoto's most famous Geisha district, we didn't spot one though but I was told they mostly come out in the evening. My guide Hiro told me Geishas have their hair held up so that they can show off the nape of their neck which is considered sexy, interesting what different cultures consider sexy.

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove - One of Kyoto's top sites, the walking paths are surrounded by tall bamboos that create a really pretty back drop. 

Kimono Forest - Had to see it to believe it, such pretty colors and patterns. I was told at night its even prettier with lights on.

That's it folks! it was quite a day and I had a good time. Here is to turning 40 and beginning a new chapter in life.

Random Thoughts of The Day:

I have to admit that I wasn't too enthused about turning 40 but I am slowly coming around, this milestone birthday has had me reflecting on a lot of things and I have come to these conclusions:

• Accept yourself and make peace with yourself.
• Focus on your own journey in life. 
• Nurture relationships and don't be fickle with people.
• There are no guarantees in life, live in the moment. Tomorrow is not promised.

When I was chatting with Hiro my Kyoto guide, he was telling me something and said, "older people in their 40s and 50s." I got a chuckle out of it thinking to myself, "holly crap! I am that "older" person that he is referring to."

It does feel surreal saying that I am 40 years old, and to think there was a time I thought someone in their 30s was so old.

My feet are so sore! even with comfortable shoes, walking around all day does take a toll on your feet.

Remember the toilet in my hotel room in Tokyo that had all these buttons for different functions that I was scared of touching? well, I did end up trying all those buttons and the precision of the bidet  function was on point! how did I survive in this world without a bidet??!!

Hiro the tour guide was telling me that their multi cultural company is looking for someone that speaks Japanese and English. He asked me if I spoke Japanese and I told him I don't.......ya'll!! I was ready to leave it all behind and get me a job in Japan but unfortunately I don't speak Japanese.

Kyoto

Today I travelled from Tokyo to Kyoto by shinkansen bullet train which is the fastest train in Japan making it so convenient to visit other cities in the shortest amount of time possible. According to their website these trains reach a speed of 320 km/hr (199 mp/hr). That's better than a bus any day and the ride is so smooth and comfortable, you hardly feel it. 

I arrived in Kyoto within 2 and a half hours (by bus the trip would have taken 7 to 8 hours) and took a taxi to the guest house that I am staying at. The weather was cold and rainy and part of me just wanted to stay in my warm cozy room but the adventurous part of me forced me out of the room to go out and explore. I had to bid adieu to this cute cosy place and go out into the cold world (dramatic much?).

The guest house I am staying at is located in a quiet residential area that's not too far from downtown. I wanted to explore the neighborhood and get my bearings and as I went along I took photos so that I would remember my route when coming back. Let's just say all the streets look the same and it was hard to distinguish one from the other, but I managed to get some that had something distinctively different that would remind me of my route. Despite having a map, it was hard making out some of the streets because their names were written in Japanese and who I'm I fooling, unless the map is super simplified I never can make my way using one. It is what it is people, my sense of direction is just nonexistent but I manage the best way I can.......asking strangers along the way for directions.

I finally made my way to downtown where I walked around, stopped by some shops and just took in the sites. I had underestimated how cold it was going to be and my coat and sweater were just not cutting it, have you ever been so cold that you get a headache? yup! that was how I felt, maybe the headache was stress induced, stressed by how cold I felt. I honestly stopped inside some of the shops just to warm up for a little bit before going out again into the cold. I felt miserable and all I wanted to do was go back to the guesthouse and get in bed with some snacks while watching my shows online, which is what I did but not before taking some photos of downtown. 

That's it folks! I am in a warm bed, covered by the warmest duvet possible and the heater is on high so you know what that means, sleep is knocking and I am ready to answer. Tomorrow I will have more adventures to update you on so look out for the next update.

Random Thoughts of The Day:

It's amazing how clean and very organized Japan is, maybe I should say Tokyo and Kyoto because those are the two cities I have visited so far. I am sure it can't be any different in other parts of the country, I am loving it!

You should see the subways, they are super clean and so are the trains. Plus no one makes noise and you can actually ride the train in peace. Speaking of subways, its actually not as complicated to ride them here as I initially thought. Once you know your line then everything is pretty straightforward plus they announce each stop in english as well so you can't get lost.

I don't even understand why I was so intimidated to visit Japan, the people are super polite and have been very helpful when I needed help.

People here are small and this is coming from someone who is 5'0. As I was walking around downtown it just occurred to me that majority of those around me were on the same eye level as me and some were even shorter than me. Of course there were some who were taller but not by much.

Another observation about people here is that they don't stare which is actually a welcome relief given that I stand out. I have been able to move around comfortably without the uncomfortable stares that I get from people who are not used to seeing someone that looks different from them.

It's amazing how many shops I stopped by today looking for a sweatshirt or sweater to add on as an extra layer for warmth. None was carrying any, I swear the one time you need something the most is when you can't get it. Silly me I had taken out some sweaters that I had packed in my luggage because they were bulky and took too much space. I figured the weather here wouldn't be as cold but I was so wrong, I just never learn when it comes to packing appropriately.

Tokyo, Japan

I had a full day today of exploring Tokyo and managed to cover a lot of ground thanks to this walking tour I came across on Airbnb. The tour was offering a full day of exploring the main Tokyo highlights and I figured it would be a great way to be introduced to this city. I quickly signed up, dug up the most comfortable walking shoes and I was rearing to go.

Turns out I was the only tourist who was signed up for today so it worked to my advantage as I got to pick and chose the pace of the tour and my guide Michiyo was very flexible in switching things up. We visited a lot of places so I will try to list some of them as I remember:

Meiji Shrine - A shinto (one of Japan's main religion) shrine dedicated to modern Japan's first Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. The area surrounding the shrine is very pretty and makes for a nice walk. Michiyo my guide told me that normally the area is crowded with people but because of the Coronavirus people were advised to stay home and avoid crowded areas so on this particular day the crowds were nowhere to be seen, much to my joy.

Harajuku Fashion Street - Known for it's interesting street fashion especially among the teenagers, many trendy shops and boutiques can be found along Takeshita street. It wasn't crowded today and I enjoyed checking out some of the interesting shops and taking in the cool vibe of the area.

Shibuya Crossing - A large iconic intersection that get's crowded by people once the lights turn green. I found the intersection to be smaller than portrayed in pictures and videos that I had previously seen online. The surrounding areas are full of neon sign advertisements and even though we were there during the day, I can only imagine how colorful it get's at night.

Akihabara - A well known shopping hub for inexpensive electronics and heaven on earth for anime and manga lovers.

On Sundays some major streets are closed off to vehicles and pedestrians are free to walk or bike along these streets. I like it!

Ueno Park - A large public park that's home to Tokyo's cherry blossoms, temples and museums. Too bad the tree's haven't fully blossomed yet but I can only imagine how beautiful the park must be surrounded by cherry blossoms.

Asakusa Sensoji Temple - One of Tokyo's most famous and oldest Buddhist temples, sorry to do this description the injustice of being so short but my eyelids are literally half closed and my mind is already half asleep.

That's it folks! jet lag is kicking my butt right now and I am losing focus as sleep threatens to overcome me. All in all it was a good day and I enjoyed getting an overview of what Tokyo has to offer. I am heading to Kyoto tomorrow so watch out for an update, in the meantime let me just surrender to this sleep because I need it.

That Time of The Year

Hey ya'll! so it's that time of the year when I take off to a country that I have never been to before, to celebrate my birthday. This year I decided to celebrate my 40th birthday in Japan. For the longest time I had wanted to visit this country but for some reason I was always so scared thinking of the language barrier and how it would make everything else more difficult. The ironic thing is that I have traveled to numerous countries where there was a language barrier that I was able to deal with somehow but for some reason Japan just intimidated me.

I think turning 40 is a big milestone so I figured what better way to mark that milestone than challenge myself and conquer my fears. That's how I finally decided on visiting Japan. I have to admit that the outbreak of the Coronovirus almost made me change my plans but I am so glad that I did not panic and cancel my travels. My flight to Tokyo was so empty as I assumed most people had decided to cancel, just take a look.

The perks of an empty flight though was enjoying the extra space and cleaner toilets as there weren't many people using them.

When I arrived at Haneda Airport everything went smoothly with immigration and since there weren't many people, I was out pretty fast.

I made it to my hotel by taxi which cost a pretty penny but I was just so tired and all I wanted was to get to my hotel ASAP without having to figure out public transportation. I got to my hotel at 4:00 pm and proceeded to black out for 10 hrs, it's 2:24 am now and I am fully awake writing this. Later on during the day I will have a full day to explore Tokyo, in the meantime let me get adventurous and figure out how these buttons in the toilet work.