Start in Kyoto! (1/3/13)

Hi everybody,

Sumi here! We’re in Kyoto! The old capital of Japan! Full of temples and castles and shrines and old Edo period culture!

While David was getting himself lost like an American tourist, I went to go see Kiyomizudera (clear water temple), one of the most famous temples in all of Japan. It has this really cool wooden balcony, which overlooks a pretty tree landscape.

Kiyomizudera gate, so many people!

Nice view. Be careful!

Since it is just after New Year’s, today was really crowded with lots of people making their “start the new year with good luck” temple and shrine trip. I have a feeling this year will be a really great year for us all!

David needs this...badly.

Then, after I finally found David (lost and hungry), we met up with his Stanford friends who will be studying at Doshisha with us and ate dinner! We ate at a yakiniku tabehoudai (all you can eat meat barbeque) restaurant! For just 1000 yen (roughly 12 dollars), all you can eat grilled meat, rice, and curry! And for those of age, there is nomihoudai (all you can drink*) for about 500 yen more (roughly 6 dollars). So nice!

(Although the smoky smell gets stuck on your fur, and it takes foooooorrrr-ever to wash it out---too bad I couldn’t go into the sentou :( )

Itadakimasu! Tabeyou! (Thanks for the food! Let's Eat!)

Anyways, a really fun way to start our Kyoto trip! It looks to be a really great study abroad!

Best wishes from Kyoto! See you soon!

-Sumi

* Drinking age in Japan is 20. Please drink responsibly.