Kinky Kinki Sunday Conclusion

Okay, I've been terrible at updating recently, partly due to having a lot on, and partly from taking too much holiday time and then thinking I have all the time in the world and then getting nothing done. So finally, here's the conclusion to our trip from last weekend.

Our other purpose on this trip, aside from going to Takarazuka, was to do something interesting in the Kansai/Kinki area. In the end we decided to try to see the silver temple of Kyoto, Ginkakuji. Mario said it was very beautiful, and he's right about most things.

We got a train to Kyoto, which didn't take long, but after eating and sorting out bus tickets (Emily gave the wrong ticket back to the driver when we got off in Osaka) it was getting on a bit, and it was after 4 already when we arrived in Kyoto. The temple, according to the Lonely Planet, was only open until 5, so we would have to be quick to make it inside on time. After dashing around the station area trying to get the right bus, eventually we found the one for Ginkakuji and got on. Unfortunately, due to poor weather and heavy traffic, the bus took forever to get to the Ginkakuji stop. I'm pretty sure under normal circumstances we could have made it there in under half an hour, but instead it took close to 45 minutes, and when we got to the temple entrance it was already closing.

Then, as if the heavens decided our fortunes weren't low enough, it started to piss down.

Luckily, there was a souvenir shop selling soft cream and umbrellas, and when the rain calmed down we walked around a nearby shrine, which had a very Spirited Away feel, enhanced by the moody weather conditions.

Afterwards, we walked the Path of Philosophy - a riverside walkway passing various temples and shrines. We took a bus back to Kyoto station, and decided, since it was getting late and needed a way to make our trip to Kyoto seem meaningful, we went up Kyoto tower.

Now, Kyoto tower doesn't have the height or size of Tokyo tower, but what it lacks in scale it makes up for in voyeuristic potential. There are about ten large binoculars around the tower's observation deck, they're all free, and all of them can see into people's homes. At Tokyo tower, you have to pay for the binoculars, and the surrounding area isn't residential. From Kyoto tower, using my camera up against one of the eyepieces, I got this picture:

In reality, the view from the binoculars was much clearer and you could see this family sitting down to dinner, about a kilometre away. Emily had a particular knack for finding people in their homes in view of the binoculars, but at one point she stepped back from one set shocked, saying she'd just seen a man take his pants off. I took a look a few seconds later and saw him, in the words of Jack Donaghy, "making passionate, angry love to himself". It made me wonder if any of the people living in the vicinity of the tower are aware of just how visible they are to anyone willing to shell out the 770 yen to ride the elevator to the top.

Shocking images aside, the tower, and the beauty of the Kyoto night skyline made up for our failure to make it to Ginkakuji, plus I picked up a pin badge (more on them later), so we were more or less satisfied when we got our train back to Osaka, and our bus back to Tokushima.