Tourists, tourists, tourists
Our next destination was Kyoto. I don’t know for sure if it would be counted as visiting Japan without visiting Kyoto. But, there is another side to this.
I think almost everyone who visits Japan, wants to visit Kyoto. However, this city is much smaller than Tokyo and is not supposed to accommodate that number of people. Especially historical places. That’s why I really wanted to visit those magical places, but I always felt shy being a part of that infinite crowd. Because all those places belong to people from this area and their siblings. Not tourists. And yet, we were there, together with other thousands of tourists.
I love the palette of Kyoto: wood, greens, calm beige, and yellow tones mixed with blue sky. Completely opposite of what we will see in Osaka.
Since the very first time I saw it in Turkey around 20 years ago, I’ve always loved bamboo. How strong it is, how robust and flexible it is. One of the symbols of Asia for me.
To find places with fewer people in Kyoto, you really need to go deep. And high. To escape from tourists, tourists, tourists, you need to take stairs, stairs, stairs. And probably a bit more stairs. But it is so much worth it.
Tori gates
One of the most instagramic and famous places in Kyoto is Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. And there is a reason for that. Endless lines of Tori gates look like something from another planet and so hard to understand how why there are so many. And how each of them is so unique.
As always, there were a lot of people, a lot of tourists. But also, as always, it was possible to find a place and time to take a good photo.
View on Kyoto. To see this, you will need to take around 1-1,5 hours of stairs.
Contrasting emotions
This city striking in contrast with Tokyo. People are different, how they speak is different, and food is a bit different. Transport is different. And of course, the atmosphere is different.
Osaka
The last stop in Japan was Osaka. The city that is so close to Kyoto, but so different. They are almost like Yin and Yang. One is historic, calm, cozy, and small. And another one is colorful, shiny, huge, and feels like a splash of colors.
Of course, there are also historic and calm areas in Osaka. But even here it feels completely different nature and mood of the palaces, buildings, and parks.
Osaka explained by train
That’s basically it. If you look at that train closely, it will be, to me, the best description of emotions from Osaka. Quirky, strange, interesting, unique, and sometimes posh.
This is the train that rides between Namba Station in Osaka and Kansai Airport. Can’t imagine a better way to spend the last moments in that unique city that is hard to describe, but rather better to spend there some time to feel it yourself.
Echo 