Kyoto

Happy New Year from Kyoto

One of the cool things in Japan is that they work quite a lot, especially on special events. That’s the case for the New 2014 Year where they had all night trains. Thanks to that, we could take a rest after our arrival and leave for Kyoto.
To be honest, we had quite a big rest, and actually left home around 2:00 (yes, A.M.). We got on a train and it took almost one hour to arrive Kyoto at 3:30. Surprisingly, there were still quite a lot of people at that time.
The 1st thing we did was to walk, find our way to the temple and on the way find somewhere to eat. We stopped at a restaurant (which I believe is a chain) that was still open. We ordered at 4:07 according to our tickets (because in some places you first order from a machine, pay there and then hand your tickets to a staff member). Yes, it’s a 24h restaurant.
And my it was sooo good! *-* Japanese food is pretty amazing, I love it.
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It only cost us 680円 and 580円. Just try to find such a meal in France for 6 or 7€. That’s a lost cause. Or maybe a 4€ Happy Meal… what a great comparison…

After that delicious feast, we continued our walk, heading to the Kiyomizu Temple (Kiyomizu-dera 清水寺), probably one of the most famous temples in Japan (difference between a temple and a shrine update: website’s dead).
You can also check that link from thetruejapan to read a great article with wonderful photographs.

Luckily it was open (thank you New Year) and cost us 300円 each.
I must say that I was quite disappointed, as I was expecting something bigger, more impressive in its size, especially height. That due to the photos that we are shown everywhere (also in manga), giving the false impression that the wooden building is very high, which is not the case (it’s a little high, but not THAT high). I don’t mean it’s not worth visiting it, it’s in fact quite wonderful (whoever a bit knowledgeable about architecture will be amazed with the wooden structure), but I’d say that the advertisements we can see here and there are not showing the truth.

Now look at that picture from Wikipedia:

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It really seems that the building is freaking high and the ground way far below the tops of the trees (we cannot see it, can we). Now here is the reality:

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Quite the difference, eh?
That being said, that area of Kyoto is very, very, very [add thousands of “very” here] beautiful, be it at night or daylight.
Here are some enlargeable shots for you to enjoy:
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Oh and by the way: HAPPY NEW YEAR :3

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