I'm not dead! But this blog is mostly just informational. I haven't had much time to do anything exciting or take pictures because the semester has really gotten underway, and I've been adjusting to the workload and sleep schedule.
Anyway, it's Golden Week! "What's that?" you ask? Well, it's about a week long period of national holidays in Japan. It sounds like it'd be awesome, but it's actually pretty lame for me. There aren't really any events planned during this time, because the holidays in question don't have interesting cultural backgrounds (think Labor Day). It's just a time for the 9-5ers to do some travelling, and Kyoto is one of the prime destinations. Sure, I don't have class, but it's one of the worst times to try to do anything because every attraction is more crowded than a mosh pit by 10 AM. So, I've just been lying low since Thursday, studying some, but mostly binge-watching TV shows if I'm going to be honest.
However, there are a few interesting events on the horizon! Here's a list of things I'll definitely be checking out and photographing. I'm sure I'll do plenty of other things in addition to these.
May 15: Aoi Matsuri takes place mainly at Shimogamo-jinja and Kamigamo-jinja in the NE area of Kyoto. There's a massive imperial procession, kind of like a formal parade, along with other events like horseback archery.
July 1 - 31: Gion Matsuri (Gion Festival) takes place in the geisha district of Gion. Parades and tons of other cool stuff.
August 6, 7: Tokyo!
August 8, 9: Climbing Mt. Fuji!
Unfortunately, I'm leaving less than a week before Daimonji, a fire festival where they light a bunch of mountains on fire. It's super radical, and I'm bummed that I'm missing it.
Some other places I plan to go, but don't have a set date for:
Nara - A smaller city that has a super cool deer park and several awesome temples and shrines.
Genkoan - A temple famous for having two different windows, one of which makes the landscape look dull and the other makes it look amazing. It's supposed to show the difference between enlightened and unenlightened perspectives.
Tofukuji - Home of the oldest sanmon (gate) in Japan.
Monkey Park Iwatayama - It's a monkey park. Need I say more?
Daigoji - Buddhist temple with a five story pagoda that is the oldest building in Kyoto (as in, hasn't been reconstructed due to fire or war)
Sanjusangendo - A buddhist temple with 1001 life-size statues of Kannon (Guanyin), each with 42 arms and 11 heads.
Ryouanji - A buddhist temple with perhaps the world's most famous rock garden. There are 15 boulders, of which you can never see more than 14 from any angle (unless you can fly).
Hosenin - Hosenin's patio's ceiling is stained red with the blood of samurai who commit seppuku during an invasion near the end of feudal Japan, when the patio was part of Fushimi castle. Their act allowed Tokugawa Ieyasu to escape with his life and eventually unify Japan.
Tons of other places!
