2008-11-23
Heian Jingu - Kinkaku-ji

Okay okay okay I know I have been neglecting my uploading of photos and whatnot but uh
I've been really busy.

I have had a crapload of work to do, and I moved apartments, blahblahblah so. suffice to say that this hasn't been my ... priority while in Japan.

Which is awesome, by the way.

This entry is going to cover the first sightseeing day - during which I was very sick and whatnot so I look hideous, do not make fun of me D:

We went to: Heian Jingū, Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera, Nijō-jō, and Kinkaku-ji.

First up: Heian Jingū.
Again, I'm not posting all of them, go look at my Flickr.

The shrine.

You have to wash your hands before you enter any shinto shrine, so that's what we did.


Inside the shrine. Looks like Chinese red, but it's actually a lot more orange.

These are wooden boards that you write your wishes on.

Bad fortunes are tied to trees, so that the person that got them doesn't have to worry about the fortune.

There were beautiful gardens all over the place, with this awesome scenery fit for like an outdoor wedding, or a fantasy movie ... I wanted to take pictures of all of it, but some places you weren't allowed to take pictures in. pity. There are a lot of pictures on my Flickr.

HERE'S LOOKIN' AT YOU, KID.

I love fish.

Not sure what it is, but it's pretty C:.

Moose is always ahead of the group ...

ALSOOO
You can feed the carp in the pictures, and we wanted to see what would happen if you just threw the food into the pond ...
Carp VS Ducks @ Heian Jingu

I actually took over 60 photos of Heian alone, but I don't feel like endlessly posting photos of wildlife, so this is all you get. Cheers.

Otawa-san Kiyomizu-dera
OMG i have wanted to go to this place since like the 5th grade since i saw a show about it on the Travel Channel.

It was lacking. Like, not nearly as ... awesome as they made it seem on the TV. TV, you fail me D:

This is the temple where you can drink the water for health, longevity, and success in studies. There is also a set of love stones that if you make it from one to the other with your eyes closed, you'll find love. I did it.


tut tut it looks like rain. The beginning of Kiyomizu-dera.

More inside.


Looking out on Kyoto.

taking a picture of bryant taking a picture of the pagoda.

Mountainsssssss

Looking down on the fountains.




Everyone's taking a drink!!
I didn't, because of my illness C:

There are these stones that you can walk between and if you make it on your own, you'll find true love C: I did it!!
Walking between the love stones

After that we moved on to
Nijō-jō

Nijojo is a castle. The floors squeak like nightingales so that noone can sneak in without the emperor knowing. Tricky tricky. There weren't any photos allowed inside, however.


Outside Nijojo.

WHITEYS!

Chrysanthemums. Means the emperor is coming. I WAS IN KYOTO WHEN HE WAS, I WAS BREATHING HIS AIR. i r so kewl.


The hall that squeaks. It was pretty fricking awesome. I wanted to try and sneak some photos but like there were GUARDS EVERY-FRICKING-WHERE, mannnn.


Pretty outside gardens ♥

Then on to the last stop:
Kinkaku-ji.
At this point I felt like crap. But I went on~!

Japan is very anti-smoking except for the fact that EVERYONE SMOKES HERE. Worse than China. at least they don't blow it in our face ...

Not sure what it is but it's cool.

L-R: Bradley, Zach, and Sam G.

Kimono!

Golden Pavilion! That's what "kinkaku-ji" means.

Fabulous! (and sick ew.)

We got pictures with the girls in kimono. They were really happy to do so, and they were all students, too.


two of the coolest trees EVER.

The pavilion has a phoenix on top.

A little shrine.

Going back to the bus, the most epic stairs of Japan so far.


and that was the end of the fun things in Kyoto.

After we got back to the bus depot in Kyoto Station ... let's just say that Bri rubbed me the wrong way, I told her to fuck off, and that's why I moved in with Kelsey and Derly moved in with Bri.

Happy Kayleigh is Happy.

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(♥ weilie || 维列) § 6:00 AM 1 messages

2008-11-03
Leaving China - Beginning of Japan!

hollllly crap it's been ... a very long week-ish here so far, let me tell you. some things will have to wait until the next post to detail but uh

yeah.

let's just say that not all of them have been uh
pleasant. yeahhhh.

BUT
BUT
I'm safe and sound in japan, with a new address to give to you, but other than that I'm perfectly safe and sound.

so without ado let's move on the pictures!!

leaving BFSU

this is sam. she is also leaving china.

The Caf. Thank god we're leaving!

This is me. a shockingly good picture of me. leaving china. in my BFSU sweatshirt.

At Kansai Airport. See the shirt? with the heart? In chinese it says "I love beijing" and both sams and i have one, and wore it upon exiting china. woo.

You can't really see it but it was a sign saying where we were going :D


This is our pile of luggage.
There is an epic story to go with this.
We all wanted to get on the same bus to Kyoto Station (because that's where our hotel was.) But the bus that arrived could only fit the people in front of us and their luggage because we had so much. So Moose was kind of upset about that but just like shrugged it off and decided that we would wait for the next one, which gave us some time to wander about.
Welllll then an hour later (when the next bus arrived) they still wanted to split us up and make us take two buses so that the people BEHIND US could get on the bus rather than let us take some of our luggage on and then get us all there.
So Moose began to have a FIT IN IN THE PARKING LOT, about how we had waited an hour and were told that we could get on the next one, and that it wasn't fair, blah blah blah but we all got on the same bus, and with all of our luggage :D.

We stayed at a hotel for a night and then moved into our apartments.
(i no longer live here but it was nice for a few days, so here are the pictures of my ex-home).


Outside the Leo Palace Takehana 2.

front hallway.

Minikitchen.

looking into the one room.

the absolutely tiny bathroom.

My bed and then micro.


The view right outside the door.

I don't live there now, that's a tale for another post, but it was awesome while it lasted C:


Now onto the rest of our first day, and our second.
The end of the first day, we went to Mos Burger and Shijo. (shijo is an awesome shopping district.)

the sign at my (ex) train station.

Walking in the subway.

it LOOKS nuclear but in reality it's .... MELON SODAAAAAA >D amazing shit man.

I didn't wake many pictures this day but oh well :D



And then the second day we wen to the KGU (Kyoto Gakuen University) Festival. It was amazing, even though it was rainy. There were fireworks :D

Our friend Ashley (who is at KGU through exchange with NCC) standing with the people at the TAKOYAKI OF DEATH stand. They were some hot guys. Oh and takoyaki is squid in pancake balls. quite good.


The view from KGU (hahahahahaha it rhymes!)




Some of the better fireworks. the rest are on my Flickr.

on Monday (the monday that just passed, the 27th back home), we had orientation so i took some more pictures while i was there C:


Some more landscape.

GIANT EFFING SPIDER MANNNNNNNNNN


The walkway that we take everyday

I am so hawt.

annnnd a view of kyoto from the bus.

fabulous, man.

i fucking LOVE JAPAN.

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(♥ weilie || 维列) § 6:32 AM 1 messages

she is
Weilie (维列) a.k.a. pothie
25 November 1988
Sagittarius
Illinois, USA; 京都, 日本 (Kyoto, Japan); 北京, 中华人民共和国 (Beijing, PRC)

she wants
world peace
a cute boy ♥
more clothes
lotsa' money
steady job
to be thinner
love ♥

the poem
Should this life sometime deceive you,
Don't be sad or mad at it!
On a gloomy day, submit:
Trust - fair day will come, why grieve you?
Heart lives in the future, so
What if gloom pervade the present?
All is fleeting, all will go;
What is gone will then be pleasant.

Если жизнь тебя обманет,
Не печалься, не сердись!
В день уныния смирись:
День веселья, верь, настанет.
Сердце в будущем живет;
Настоящее уныло:
Все мгновенно, все пройдет;
Что пройдет, то будет мило.
Pushkin.

how to ...
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