Kansai Part 2

Ok, so it's really really overdue, but here's some pictures from the 2nd day of my trip to visit Sean in the Kansai area of Japan.

Day 2 was a trip to Kyoto and to Mount Kurama, which is close to the city. We went with three of Sean's friends to climb the mountain and visit the temple at the top. Sean's friend Mari brought her video camera with her, so we made a silly samurai movie near the summit, which involved sword fighting with sticks and throwing snow balls like they were ninja stars. I hope they didn't put it on youtube (>_<). The temple was very nice and peaceful (thanks to it being a Monday). The most interesting feature was the basement of the temple, which is a mausoleum for followers of the Buddhist religion (I think the temple at Mt. Kurama was for a smaller Buddhist sect). The room was darkly lit and was full of corridors of urns that we walked down. It was a bit eerie, but I don't think I'll ever forget the experience.

Sean and I then headed off to Kyoto to see Kiyomizudera, one of Kyotos most famous temples (and currently on the list of nominees for the "new 7 wonders of the world"). There was an excellent view of the city from the main temple and lots of shops where I bought some souvenirs for my co-workers in Sendai. I felt like a tourist again when I visited Kiyomizudera; Sean too. We saw many foreigners taking pictures and it was a bit strange being able to understand what they were saying. I've gotten used to not being able to understand the background conversations in restaurants and shops. It's nice not having to hear all the strange things that people say to each other in public (I heard enough of that at Christmas when I went home for 2 weeks).

After the temple we met up with Sean's friend again for dinner in Kyoto. We went to an izakaya that was like an amusement park dungeon. The staff wre wearing prison style costumes and at one point some "monsters" broke loose, so we had to stay put in our cells (table) and watch as the monsters ran around making noise and scaring the other customers. Only in Japan....

Sean and I then went back to Hirakata to watch a movie and have some snacks at his apartment. I bought a 1-litre can of beer because Sean had always wanted to collect the can. I couldn't finish it, but he got his souvenir. And it came from a vending machine!!! No lousy LCBO or Beer Store here, haha! (^_^).