Geishas and Cherry Blossoms and Shrines, Oh My!

But first, our bullet train experience. As in – when the fast turns out slow. Turns out it doesn’t feel like a speeding bullet on the inside, especially when our particular train stopped at every stop between Tokyo and Kyoto. Add to that an additional delay of some sort, and the ride was about 3 hours longer than originally anticipated. But it was kind of fun, we had loads of snacks and some drinks, and even caught some views of the infamous Mt. Fuji along the way.

Our airbnb Japanese house was only a 15 minute walk from the station, so – armed with Google Maps – we set out to find our home away from home for the next 5 nights. It is so cute!

We ladies headed to the nearest supermarket to pick up some fixings for dinner and beverages, and Ayami made us a delicious Japanese curry dish and fresh salad for dinner. This traditional home has Netflix and YouTube, so we had a great time watching more of the local sumo festival and also some dog agility trials. At some point we all crashed and were having the most wonderful slumber until construction started on the outside wall of our bedroom the next morning.

A quick look outside showed that the metal siding was being removed and I guess replaced. Ayami spoke to the worker and he said that he probably wouldn’t be working on it tomorrow (Saturday). So we emailed the management company, but didn’t hear back until the afternoon. Turns out the work can wait until after we are gone.

That’s the master bedroom wall right there.

So soldiering on with the banging and the clanging, Cam and Jenn made us breakfast and then we headed out to see some sights. First were a bunch of temples and gardens.

While full bloom sakura is still a week or two away, every so often there is a tree in full bloom – the flowers are so delicate and beautiful.

After the Imperial Palace we took a bus to the Higashiyama area (with a bunch more temples and shrines to see), and as we were walking, Ayami spotted a geisha on the other side of the street. I hoofed it towards her to get my shot, not knowing if I would be able to catch up to her, when she stopped at a cross walk and it looked like she would be headed right towards me! My lucky day , that’s for sure. I couldn’t believe my luck, as they are not a common sight, even in this area (though Ayami saw a couple of them in the 7-11 later in the day!)

This capture really made my day. Here are some of the other sights from that area:

Had to get a Starbucks sakura cup latte . . .

Ayami thinks this woman was a bride because this is a wedding kimono, and different from the ones we have seen other women walking around in. She did have a couple of photographers, but I didn’t see a wedding general, so I’m not totally sure.

So that’s it for the last two days – you’re all caught up. At the moment we are settling in for the night and listening to the rain fall outside. We will see what tomorrow brings weather wise – but a little downtime would not go amiss at this point in our adventure of a lifetime, at least for these two old timers!