Kyoto

Hi everyone!

On our last night in Tokyo, we went to Shibuya crossing. It was a lot like time square, and really something to see. The hustle and bustle of the intersection was catching. The trains in Tokyo stop at midnight, so there are tons of people on them, some rushing to catch the last train home, some just beginning their evening.

The next day, we made our way to Kyoto on the shinkansen (bullet train). It was actually sunny when we arrived! The weather really makes such a difference. Kyoto seems like a warmer and friendlier city than Tokyo. The people seem to be smiling more, and they are less orderly when lining up for the trains (not disorganized of course, this is Japan, just slightly less precise about where they stand).

We are staying at BaKpackers hostel, which is not as nice as the one we stayed at in Tokyo. There are bathrooms every second floor, the showers are tiny and the beds are rather crammed together. However, we will likely be longing for such luxuries further into our trip. We met a couple of very nice guys from LA, who went out with us last night and traveled with us all day today. Last night we went to a blues bar and listened to Japanese people croon English songs to which they clearly did not know the words. The atmosphere was electric though, everyone was having a wonderful time. Listening to a small, punky looking Japanese man sing "route 66" is quite the sight to see!

Today we decided to see Kyoto's famous shrines. We saw quite a number, which were incredibly beautiful. We walked around the city, took the bus, and generally soaked up the sun and the zen. It was quite an awesome day! We have not included the names of the shrines we saw, nor described the animals and plants, but if you would like to see what they look like, please see this link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mnatlas/KyotoShrinesTemplesFloraFauna?feat=directlink
Unfortunately the blog will not allow me to post that many pictures!

The weather is great, the people are great, and this is a wonderful city :)

Look for Ilana's first post tomorrow!

Thanks for reading!