Jasmin's last full day in Japan began by waking up in the historical, but completely updated, city of Kyoto. We had breakfast that consisted of various kinds of delicious bread and then checked out of our hotel, but asked them to hold onto the bags until the afternoon. With our stuff for the day, we went to a nearby konbini (convenience store) to buy all-day bus passes so we could get around for cheap. The trains there were either non-existent or supposedly inconvenient from what I can remember.
Our first stop was kinkakuji, translated as the Temple of the Golden Pavilion - a must-see for anyone who travels to the city. The main attraction is of course a beautiful golden building, once used by Buddhist monks and is said to hold some of Buddha's real ashes. You couldn't go in the building or even touch it, but it provided us with easily some of the vbest pictures on our trip. They had gone all out in making the actual temple just a small part of the experience, and we got some good omiyage there as well.
Afterward we did a little more shopping for omiyage, including a kimono for my mom. Our next big temple was going to be ginkakuji, the Silver Pavilion, though it wasn't actually silver so much as part of a pair with kinkakuji. So after taking the bus to an area nearby, we decided to walk around and find some lunch. We passed on a packed and horribly smelling ramen shop and got a bite at an empty normal-smelling restaurant, then walked up the long path to ginkakuji. The area leading up to the temple was really nice, and the final strip had some great omiyage shops. But we hurried through and got to the gate, where we found to our disappointment a sign saying that most of the temple was under construction. We decided it ultimately wasn't worth the full price, and turned around to the shops.
We bought more omiyage, filled up on free samples of sweets, and even got a cool homemade ronin samurai hat for my brother for super cheap, before getting back on the bus to go to the hotel. The ride back was a lot more rough, not only because it took forever, but because the bus was jam-packed. Nearly a couple hours later, we finally make it to the hotel, grabbed our bags and ran to the station. We barely got there in time, and took the bullet train back to Nagoya sporting the new samurai hat. We took the trains back from there, got sometime quick at a konbini for dinner, then returned home.
My host parents took us back to Nagoya station, which at this point was beautifully lit up for Christmas. We took tons of pictures and videos until finally said our goodbyes, and I went with Jasmin on a train to a hotel near the airport. Unfortunately, I wasn't completely on top of the directions and missed our stop, taking us all the way to the end of the rail and turning around before I realized the mistake. We finally made it to Tooyoko Inn, which was the same style as the other one we stayed in earlier, and went right to bed.
The next morning, Sunday the 9th, we got up late after missing our alarm the first time. We finished packed and I took Jasmin to the airport in a rush for a few bites before having to say goodbye. I wouldn't see her again in person for almost 3 months, after school had started again at home. Finally, I saw her through the gate, and with that aching feeling in my stomach I forced myself to return home.
Pictures on Facebook
Pictures on Photobucket
Videos on YouTube
And there you go, folks, my posts about my girlfriend Jasmin's adventures with me in Japan are complete. I must reiterate that my experiences in Japan were some of the best in my entire life, and the time that Jasmin came to visit was the highlight of the trip, so it was very important for me to document it thoroughly. As you can see now, the project had been a bit daunting due to the sheer amount of activity that we packed in. Now that it's done, I imagine my posts on Japan will be relatively shorter, but not without expounding as much knowledge as I accumulated from Japan as I can remember. After all, that's what you guys want to read, right?
Before I continue with Japan, however, I want to put out some blogs on my two weeks in the Philippines, which I still need to finish writing about on paper. But putting these up will be A LOT quicker than the ones from Japan, I promise.
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