Japan Trip Day 2 : Kyoto -Awara

Day 2 of our Japan trip started with a ride on Shinkasen, the super fast bullet train to Kyoto. It was amazing how orderly the Japanese was and everyone stood in line while waiting. So us being law abiding Singaporeans, we follow suit too ! Next to the Japanese, Singaporeans love to queue too dun we ? = )

See how guai we are, following the lines drawn on the floor. Bet it is easy to spot the tourist from the crowd yah ?

So what does one do once on board the world famous bullet train ? Give a kawaii pose of cos ! And not forgetting to catch up on some chin exercise !hahaha .. Call me VAIN!

In a jiffy (like 15 min that's how fast) we reached Kyoto, filled with temples and shrines and cute little traditional houses. Brings back memory of olden Japan.

First stop on the itinerary is a visit to Kiyomizu Temple to ask for blessings for a good trip. On our way, I spotted one of my favourite fruit , the persimmon and had to show to snap a pic. Looks so succulent that I wanna reach out and grab some .. *slurp*

What's a visit to the temple without paying my respects to the God of Wealth right ?? = P

Uncle Tan (one of our very entertaining tour mate.. story on him later) told us in all seriousness that we must stroke the God of Wealth (especially the bag!) and quickly put your hands into your own pocket to keep the luck and did I do that? You Bet I DID !Hahaha ... take no chances man .

Poor Sand infected with the Kawaii bug barely 2 days in Japan .And I have NOTHING to do with it ... yah right ?! She looks cute what .... = )

nterestingly, there was a queue (especially ladies) at this little hut and we noticed that everyone was taking a sip from the 3 outlets of spring water so we joined in too. Apparently each outlet meant blessing on different things (wealth, health and beauty.. not in that order though) and the believers can only take 2 sips and not all 3 else it will not come true. Neither Sand or myself know which outlet was for which blessings so we gamely took a bet and drank at random

Though I ought to admit I followed a bunch of Obasan before me and drank from the same outlet. My bet is that they were asking for BEAUTY ....need I say more ?

And the spring water worked immediately !

Ain't I cute in this pic we took when we sought refuge at one of the inns (with heater and free flow of green tea..yippee). I love the syrup coated mochi and steaming hot tea especially when the temperature has dropped with the rain outside ...brrrr ...

And since we started off our eating spree (our fav pasttime in Japan), there is no stopping us !

Sand was drooling at the sight of macha and chestnut ice cream and had to attempt eating one even though it was barely 7 degrees . My brain almost froze when I took a bite.

See how happy she looks...hehehe Another huge bite into green tea puff (like bread papa)

After the temple, we were off to the Japan Sea at Tojimbo to view the magnificent pillar-shaped rocks created by sea erosion. This was where we FINALLY had a taste of REAL WINTER as the cold wind knocked our breathe away. Check out the full attire man.

It was SOOOOOO cold that my teeth started chattering the moment I alighted the coach. Could even feel the cold wind cutting into my bones and my fingers were frozen stiff . Ignorant Singaporean !!

After an exciting time around Kyoto, we settled down to a scrumptous meal at our hotel that was a feast for the eye. Looks pretty yah ?

We were so looking forward to our first outing to the ONSEN (though a bit apprehensive cos must be butt naked in front of strangers) and couldn't stop jumping around in the room . Here we come!

Conclusion ? We love ONSEN !! Err ... more precisely, I love the showering process, ie. sitting butt naked on little stool separated by waist high cubicles and trying the in house shampoo, shower foam, facial wash etc etc etc and letting the hot water (cos can control temp lah) run all over the cold body. Heavenly .... so I spent more time out of the hot spring water than in it !hehehe

Sand on the other hand LOVES the hot (like 40 degrees) spring water and was grinning from ear to ear "scalding" herself and even wanted to try the outdoor pool when it was 0 degrees in the open. The heat must have gone to my head cos I WENT ALONG with THAT!

On hind sight, it was a great experience cos the hot water on the body fully complemented the freezing head and the fresh air did wonders to the lungs. That is if you survive walking into the open pool.... = P

Pity it did not snow that night else it will be just perfect.

Check out our contented faces. We slept real good that night. Looking forward to more trips to the ONSEN in the next few days.

More pics of DAY 2