一番: This is the entrance to the main train station in Kyoto. It’s an enormous building and is the most expensive train station in the world. I’m writing a short paper on it for my architecture class.
二番: With that class I went to Daitokuji temple, which is actually many temples. They are Zen Buddhist temples, so lots of Zen gardens and such. There are little stone figures in one of the temples.
三番: Zen…
四番: Kyoto is so nice. I love it there. There is a height limit for the buildings, so other than Kyoto Station there are no tall buildings or skyscrapers. The whole place just feels old and nice.
五番: At the side of this temple, overlooking this mossy garden, you could buy maccha (the kind of green tea used in tea ceremonies) for 400 yen and drink it here. So I did. It was really nice, very relaxing and I felt very… Japanese.
六番: I recently learned how to say “Is it ok to take a picture?” in Japanese, so I thought I’d ask these girls.
七番: Now is the time for hanami. Everyone (especially business men, who really like drinking) grabs a tarp under the cherry blossoms (in parks and temples all over) and drinks sake and eats food. Some places, like where we were in Kyoto, have food booths around, selling “fair”-type food… Japanese-style.
八番: This is me!
九番: Up until now I’ve noticed that people around here don’t really stay out late. Maybe it’s because it’s still cold-ish out, or because the trains and buses stop around midnight. But in cherry blossom season, they all come out! It’s nice to see some activity outside at night.
十番: A group of young Japanese kids came up to my group of friends and asked if we wanted to share an big bottle of whiskey with them. “Ummm… sure…” we said. Turned out to be hilarious and fun. This guy had a guitar and both he and Lucy played English songs that we all knew. What’s more fun that a sing-song under the blossoms?!
十一番: They proceeded to get extremely drunk (these hanami parties seem to be a big deal, like a it’s-once-a-year-so-let’s-drink-as-much-as-we-can type of thing) It was fun watching them, but I can’t say I really took part.
十二番: This girl was crazy! Look at all the charms on her phone!!!