To the next crazy venture beneath the skies
I’ve been on my trip for 30 days.
It’s gone fast, but I’m grateful for what I’ve been privileged to do and see and the people I’ve met so far.
I’m reminded lately of the motivation of my youth – when life was more black & white, and the great, big world was sitting out there untouched, unspoiled and unbroken, waiting for me to explore it
30-day checkpoint / update…
My initial, very ambitious budget doesn’t work! I’m changing it to $70/day. Check out the page I updated where I talk about that here.
As far as overall experience, I feel satisfied with the things that I’ve done and seen. I’ve kept really busy, walked a lot (see below), but also at times when I just wanted to relax, I’ve done that too. It’s weird, traveling and staying in hostels, I haven’t had much time where I’ve been alone. I think that’s a good thing, but for the introvert in me, there have been days where I didn’t want to be around huge crowds the entire day, or tour the city with other people, so I just went to smaller, less popular places alone😄
A couple of other tidbits…
- My capsule hostel. I was bummed that I maybe wasn’t going to get to stay in a capsule hotel while in Japan, but when I got to my Kyoto hostel, I realized that’s basically what it is!
capsules from outside
view from my futon
my capsule room. it’s not as messy as it looks😂
It’s cozy, semi-private, secure (can lock things in desk drawer), and the only way to go! L-O-V-E it.
- Walking distances. I was talking to someone, and he told me about the health app on the newer iPhones that records different activities, kind of like a fitbit. It has miles walked, flights climbed, and steps taken (obviously, only records what you do when you’re carrying your phone). When I looked at it for the first time, I was amazed at how much I’ve walked since I’ve been on my trip – it’s really cool data to see. My average miles walked per day this past month is 6.28 miles! The most I walked in one day was 8.96 miles😅 Does this make up for not working out😝?
miles walked per day
- Thank you, Mother and Father. For helping so much with the dogs and the house and the sending me stuff… everything. I am so grateful to have you as my parents.
Next up: Hiroshima, Fukuoka (sumo???), & Osaka
Not Quite Holy Kyoto
Not quite holy, but not bad either
There are also those things that aren’t labeled “holy” that have my attention (even though anything can be spiritual to anyone😉)…
- Beautiful streets, parks and gardens
maruyama park
random bridge
adorable garden in adorable coffee shop
kyoto backstreet
pink painting the sky in gion
katsura river
togetsukyo (moon-crossing) bridge
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arashiyama
arashiyama street
arashiyama street
sanjo bridge sunset
path of bamboo
bamboozled
looks unreal
types of moss (something from The Hobbit??)
stream
takaragaike park
duckies
takaragaike lake (do you see the huge orange fish?!)
- Being accosted by adorable school children
cute school kids wanting picture with foreigner
Sooo, this was the 3rd time that I was asked to take a picture with school kids. The first time, I had just gotten off of my bus the first day in Kyoto and was trying to find the hostel, and I heard all these people running towards me. I got scared, thinking that I was about to be mugged, so I was deciding what I had on me that I could use to hit someone with. But, turns out, it was six kids – three boys, three girls – in their uniforms, and the ‘leader’ said, “EXCUSE ME! Can we take picture with you???”
The kids in the pic above followed me for about 15 minutes, and then, after much whispering, one of them finally said, “EXCUSE ME!”. I decided that I would get a picture as well this time, and they really loved it when I asked for a picture – they thought it was hilarious😂
So, I was told by a friend who lives here but isn’t from Japan that some people love foreigners because we’re so exotic… (a funny thought that a whitey-white girl from Kentucky is exotic!). He said we can be called “gaijin” by some, which literally means Alien (gai = outsider, alien, or something weird; jin = nationality). Super funny. Love it!
- Rickshaws! They were invented in Japan. The word came from the Japanese word “jinrikisha” (jin = human, riki = power or force, sha = vehicle), which literally means “human-powered vehicle.”*
rickshaws
*source: wikipedia😂
Next up: 30-day Checkpoint
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