Kyoto day 2

On the second day in Kyoto I already felt more like myself-not fully recovered but I was getting there. In my hostel I met the really lovely Megan who was also traveling through Japan. So we joined forces and did the sightseeing together. The first stop of the day was Kinkakuji also known as the Golden Pavilion. The top floors are covered in gold leaf which in my opinion definitely makes it a one of a kind sight. After that we took the bus to see Fushimi Inari-taisha which is a shrine dedicated to the Kami Inari. Apart from being very touristy it was one of my favorite sights whilst being in Japan. It was just incredible to see these thousands of torii gates in their bright red color lined up. The last stop for the day was the Kiyomizu Temple which caught my eye because of its wooden pillars that juts over the hillside. This day showed me how Kyoto is overflown with beautiful shrines and temples. The sad part about it is that after seeing all these beautiful shrines and temples one starts to less appreciate the others because the brain is just overflown with temples. So the key is to have less temples packed in one day to fully appreciate the beauty of them. 

The fascinating Kinkakju Temple 

Whilst being in Kyoto we saw so many tourists dressed in traditional Kimonos

At the shrine people were lighting up incense and candles for their wishes

Before entering the Fushimi Inari-taisha you could cleanse your hands and mouth with this holy water

I was trying my luck by ringing the bell with the Kami Inari which is the fox goddess 

The numerous torii gates at Fushimi Inari-taisha

We saw this man's beautiful drawing of the torii gates 

We landed at this huge bamboo forest just a few steps into the Fushimi Inari-taisha

The entrance of the Kiyomizu-dera

This temple was constructed in 1633 because of its material-it has to be renovated quite often

Kyoto day 1

I arrived in Kyoto early in the morning via the night bus from Tokyo. If you are thinking about going there with the night bus I would suggest to purchase the bus ticket earlier than just a few days ahead because you can save up a lot money especially during Christmas time (I had to learn it the hard way). After the horrible night with almost no sleep and still ill I was lucky enough the quickly find my way to the hostel. The hostel was in one of those little traditional food lanes, not only were the owners super helpful and kind whilst I was ill, the hostel, a traditional old house which they renovated  had such a calm and beautiful atmosphere. After I slept until late in the afternoon, I wanted to walk a bit around the area and find some food. The hostel owners suggested to see the Nanzenji Temple and the Eikando Temple. Just by the little glimpse I had of that day I was already feeling the magnitude of the former Japanese capital. Kyoto has so many traditional and historical buildings to offer and in my opinion a must-see whilst traveling Japan. 

The cute entry of the hostel I was staying in- Guesthouse OKI's Inn 

My heart made a little jump for these cute arrangement of succulents 

Every shot in Kyoto is picture perfect

I had to get some strength back because of my flu- this was a perfect meal to get me going

Beautiful aqueduct 

Nanzenji Temple- I arrived there whilst the sun was setting. Whilst being in Kyoto I had dozens of Deja-vu situations with the Hayao Miyazaki movies 

Cute little monks at the Eikando temple

Tried some soba and vegtables tempura 

I was walking along Eikando Temple and saw all these students coming home from their afternoon classes and was so intrigued because of the feeling that time just stopped in Kyoto. I felt like I was watching a movie about the 50s wether it was because of  the students wearing those really old looking uniforms or those dark wooden buildings. Now thinking about it I really enjoyed that atmosphere, it was a really calm and picturesque!

Tokyo part 3

I love traveling! All these new impressions about an unknown culture which you've just encountered; the 'lost in translation-ness'; the new faces and the stories behind them etc. It's one of my big loves in life BUT what happens if you feel sick and by sick I'm not talking about it like in a hiphop kind of way, like cool and fresh I mean coming down with a diseases...That is what happened to me on my third day in Tokyo. It was probably due to a mixture of mental stress of planning this trip, the sadness of the semester ending and the lack of sleep that caused me to get the flu. Instead of resting for the first few days, I was having the infamous FOMO (fear of missing out) so I was pushing myself too hard which lead to my knockout. I wasn't able to leave the bed for two days which really annoyed me but I guess that was the only way how I could continue my trip. On the third day the weather wasn't that great, we started with Shibuya walking around trying to find a restaurant where we didn't have to wait for more than an hour to finally get a table and continued with Harajuku. Because we wasted a bit of time trying to find a restaurant we had to rush through Harajuku also Anja had invited me to her friends place to hang out so we also had to go there. I was quite sad to leave the party earlier but I was just feeling horrible!

The day before I got really sick Anja and me went to Shibuya-it's crazy how many people are at Shibuya crossing 

We went to this restaurant called Sweets paradise which had a buffet with western food and lots of cake- after paying at a vending machine you have one hour to eat as much as you can ^^

They really know how to make delicious cake

A must for tourist- standing next to the Hachiko statue

The busy streets of Harajuku- everywhere I went in Tokyo there where tons of people

I already look a bit ill in this picture in front of the main street in Harajuku 

Tokyo part 2

After going to the Fish Market in the early morning I returned to my friends place and took a nap before heading out again in the noon. I went up the Tokyo tower to get a overview of the city. Also the weather that day was really nice so I was able to have a pretty far overlook. The second stop after that was the Imperial Palace-I got there 20 minutes before they were closing so I was rushing through the whole park. For your information the palace closes at 4 pm during the winter months so definitely plan more time ahead. A fact about me is that during travels I usually walk a lot(!) so after the Imperial Palace I also walked through the East Garden of the Imperial Palace and by accident I also passed by the National Museum of Modern Art but unfortunately it was already closed. I've realized that a lot sights in Japan close relatively early-for the next I will definitely plan everything better! In the evening I met up with my friend and her friends to visit the Tokyo Christmas market. Although it was already the 22nd of December because I was living in Seoul I didn't really feel the Christmas spirit. So it was quite a funny sight to see a typical German Christmas market in Tokyo. To be honest the food wasn't really authentic and quite pricey but I can understand that it is quite the attraction for Japanese people and also ideal for Germans feeling homesick. 

Tokyo tower

It quite crazy to think about how big Tokyo is

The beautiful walls of the palace. Growing up I remember going to the local Japanese garden in Freiburg. This was the much bigger version of it- they really take a lot of care in their tree pruning.

During closing time there were a lot of guardians either walking or riding a bicycle in their old fashioned uniform informing the tourist that the palace was closing soon. This was one of the many moments I had in Tokyo where I had the feeling of being brought back in time. 

The East garden was still full of colorful trees. Overall the climate was much milder in Tokyo than in Seoul, it was almost a +10°C difference

The entrance of the Tokyo Christmas Market 

A very rare sight for Japanese but a very common sight for me living in Munich-Erdinger House

Tokyo part 1

After the semester had ended I fulfilled one of my long time dreams- traveling to Japan. I went there on the 21st of December till the first of January 2016. Which meant spending Christmas and New Years in Japan. Ever since I was little I was fascinated with that country starting from the Anime world, the motherland of Sailor Moon, Dragonball Z to just name a few of my childhood heroes and this fascination has continued even now through my adulthood. Two of my favorite movies are set place in Japan, the first one is 'Spirited away' and the second one is 'Lost in Translation'. Both tackle different topics but both of these movies have left an immense impact in my tastes in cinematography. Japan in my eyes was a world where tradition and craziness has formed a well sorted balance. And I was eager to make my own impression of these two worlds. My first stop of this journey was the gigantic, enormous and tremendous capital of Japan-Tokyo. 

I started to realize how big this city actually is on my way from the airport to my friends dorm where I was staying at, it took me more than two hours. I arrived there exhausted but happy to finally see my friend Anja after 6 months. She took me to Ikebukuro which is a district with lots of shops where we had some yummy food and had a good old chat about our exchange student lives. 

Ikebukuro- first outlook on the amount of people living in Tokyo 

We had some food in one these so called family restaurants-I really enjoy the Japanese cuisine with their set meals

They really know how to make a good desert

Huge arcades- I saw tons of these types of arcades on TV, so me and my friend had to play a few games. It's crazy to think that some of these people are staying hours and hours playing by there own

First time for me playing this race and I don't know how but I was able to score first place (I'm the piggy with the bow)

On the 22nd we woke up super early (around 5 o'clock) to go to the Tsukiji Fish market. Sadly we weren't able to witness the Tuna auction but we saw one of these big Tuna fish in front of a restaurant. So of course we had to snap a picture. A lot of shops and restaurants weren't even open at that time. So for those not that interest in the Tuna auction and just want to see the market I suggest going later in the day!

The market was full of deli which I have never seen before. Most of them were either products of the sea or things to eat with seafood

I really enjoyed the atmosphere of all these people in the early morning picking up their groceries

Of course we had to have some kind of Sushi from the Fish market- really delicious!