what we did in japan when we left tokyo

So, what did we do in Japan when we left Tokyo, you ask? We toured around the central part of the country by train. The rail system in Japan is excellent -- I don't think I'd ever rent a car there even if I wasn't terrified by the idea of driving on streets that are exactly four inches wider than the car. And they're not one-way streets, so what do they do when two cars approach from opposite directions? Curious, and best observed from afar, if you ask me. Anyway.

We spent a day in Miyuki's hometown, Kawagoe. This is a town about 30 km northwest of Tokyo, considered "out in the country" or "out in the sticks," depending on your point of view. Part of Kawagoe is still built along traditional lines (left); the banners are up because they were preparing for the town festival that weekend. We went to the festival, where hundreds of people came out despite pouring rain. We spent a large part of the night huddling out of the rain at the Buddhist temple.


We also went to Kyoto, which is a three-hour shinkansen (bullet train) ride west of Tokyo. Kyoto was great -- if I was going back, I'd base my trip out of Kyoto instead of Tokyo. Kyoto is the "Cultural Heart of Japan," with hundreds of temples and shrines. Many were damaged during WWII but have been rebuilt in the traditional style. Here's a rather small temple (right), which I like the look of. At least, I think it's a temple. For all I know it might be a maintenance shed.

Of course, there are also spectacularly huge temples as well. This (left) is at Heian-jingu, also in Kyoto, which we visited at sunset on a beautiful day. (This is only one small part of the entire place.)

Also, Kyoto is where you look for geishas! We tried one night but didn't find them (not surprisingly as they are noted for being elusive, which I think is part of the appeal). We did see one woman dressed up as a geisha, but given that she was right outside of a photo studio, I have doubts about her authenticity. Whatever, she looked cool.

Also, Kyoto is where we got engaged. We were at another temple (Kiyomizu), which was incredibly crowded with kids on field trips. Looking to get away from the throngs for a bit, we found a little path, which turned out to lead up the mountain behind the temple. Out of curiosity, we wandered up, and up, and up through this beautiful forest. Reaching a clearing, Andy felt that he should run down and tell the others where we were, and when he returned (looking like he was about to drop after running all the way back up), he had the ring! (I said yes.) We continued the rest of the way up the mountain, where we found... a helicopter pad and another throng of school kids. It was kinda surreal.