on holiday!

And so begins year 2016 with zero motivation to study, although I prayed my first prayers at the shrine dedicated to gods of study. Dunno, it just feels so dumb to have a holiday just four weeks before the entire semester will end. Two tests tomorrow, and I'm just like... who cares. So instead of grammar and vocab revision, let's just relive the past week, since it was all way more fun.

Now, it's been a busy week for the camera, too, so in order to keep this post short enough to scroll through in less than an hour, I'll keep writing to the minimum and let you guys enjoy the pictures. Also, since Eve won't be getting the entire bunch until Easter, this functions as a sneak peek for her, too, and to anyone she might be wanting to show these.

Arashiyama monkey park!

Tourists were advised to stay a minimum 2 meters away and not to point their camera straight at the monkeys... He looks like a professional though, I guess he knows what he's doing.

A big Totoro thumbs-up for Arashiyama.

Finally a photo of me in Japan, and got photobombed so bad. Don't know what to say. 

So much moss that it inspired us to create a gif.

Coffee and chocolate (she brought me my favorite!) to take us through the New Year celebrations.

Are you ready for the year of the monkey?

Hatsumoode at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine - since it's the shrine for gods of study, it's pretty popular...

Although I'm not a shintoist (is that even a word?), it was pretty cool to engage in the traditional activity of the first prayers of the year, right after midnight.

Even got a fortune - so little luck that we hung them up on the strings for unwanted fortunes.

Kinkakuji on a winter's day - since you've seen the pics from before, here's just a cool (or not) reflection of it.

Why, hello!

Nijojo, the castle with a funny name.

Eve and the fish.

Not impressed.

The Japanese are really good at gardens.

Since Eve loves Japanese sweets, half of our diet for the week consisted of wagashi.

And the other half was just traditional Japanese foods. This was okonomiyaki Osaka-style - they seem to like cheese a lot!

Out with the old, in with the new. 

Sky Garden in Osaka and shining shoes.

Looks like a great day for soaking in an onsen!

Afterwards, unagi (eel) for the first time! 5/5, would eat again. 

Aqueducts, Eve, and generally just a pretty cool scenery in Kurama. Such relax, much wow.

In sum, it was a week full of fun; izakaya, karaoke, onsen (twice, haha), monkeys, and last but not least, moss. Also a big thanks to my friends Miki and Ayame for introducing us the proper manners for visiting a shrine, and for good company in general!

The fact that Kyoto pretty much died after New Year's Eve pooped some of our great plans, though - a lot of the stores were closed for a few days. In fact my coffee shop is still closed... I lived on instant coffee for a while, but now I'm out of that as well and really not going to buy another pack of that shit, so please please please be open tomorrow will you?

Oh, and wanna hear about the time when Kyoto finally woke up? Well, that was when I was seeing my sister off to the airport, and left my bike in front of McDonald's next to the subway station. When I came back, it wasn't there! So during those two hours that I was gone, they'd come and cleaned up the spot, since it was forbidden to park there. To get it back, I need to take a train to the middle of nowhere and pay 2300 yen for the bike, so not really going to do that, seeing that I paid only 5000 for the thing in the first place, and I'd be using it for another 3 weeks. Keep the damn thing, you fuckers.

momiji

It's the best time of the fall, the momiji season, when the leaves turn into all these amazing colors, from what almost looks like neon yellow, to crimson red - the other day I even saw purple leaves! So I thought it'd be a good time to finally go and see Kinkaku-ji (actually Rokuon-ji, but it's better known by the name Kinkaku-ji, I think), and see what all the fuss is about. Sadly, the weather wasn't in my favor this time; it was pretty cloudy the whole weekend, so I've spent half a day saturating the fuck out of these pictures. I do hope you enjoy them!

But first, a couple of pictures I took when I took a stroll down at the riverbank.

These things that look like eagles but act like pigeons.

How romantic.

Well, so on Saturday, I biked all the way up to the northern part of the town, where Kinkaku-ji is located, and I'm so glad I chose the bike over the train, since the way up there was so pretty! I made my way through these quiet neighborhoods filled with narrow, winding streets. So picturesque. I think I took more photos on the way there and back than at the actual attraction. Here's a couple.

Now, I think it might've been better just to spend the day exploring the quiet neighborhood, since at the arrival to Kinkaku-ji, I was once again reminded how I hate tourists. And yes, I am aware that I'm also a tourist, and that everybody else is probably just as annoyed, but gosh. To some people there, I would've liked to quote my favorite movie Pitch Perfect, where one of the character says these words of wisdom: "Please take your head out of your ass, it's not a hat!" I mean, I don't know how it's possible, when you're there with a kazillion of other tourists, to have this delusion that you're the only person in the world. Because that's how so many people were acting. I don't know, I guess it has something to do with the fact that you're on a holiday in a different country, which makes you think that you're not really that much responsible for any harm that you may cause to others, since, after all, you don't really understand the culture and the customs. Which is a load of bullshit. When in Rome, right?

Like kids at a zoo.

Kinkaku-ji

"What's that smell?"

So that was an exhausting experience, and the temple wasn't that special, really. I mean, yeah, it was a golden temple so of course it's pretty, but I think I've been spoiled since I live in Kyoto where there are temples and shrines at every corner, so they don't really look that amazing anymore. And since I was so busy hating people, I didn't even have time to properly appreciate the sight itself.

Afterwards, I went to a kaiten sushi restaurant. These are probably my favorite places, since you get a selection of different types of sushi that go past your table, and get to pick any of them that look delicious or interesting enough. Although I don't think these places are ideal for experimenting with new foods, as they serve cheap, raw fish. And that can possibly be dangerous. However, I couldn't resist trying out this yuzu-flavored whatever it is. 5/5, never again.

District 9 sushi

At my way home, I had to stop at the Imperial Gardens to take a photo of these momiji enthusiasts. I love it how the Japanese get so excited about everything.

Guys, it's just a tree...