Snow-Woman 0 Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 I don't know if this belongs here or the general off-topic. Anyhows. For those who have been to Kyoto - what do you think? It is obviosuly one of the places to visit when you are in Japan, but on my short visit I was disappointed and I have heard that comment a few times. Yes the temples were nice but nothing so much better than what I have seen in Nikko, etc. and there was that distance between them full of normal Japanese city. I didn't spend that much time there and have heard good things as well and so I am very open to going back and finding more but I was just interested to hear what others think? Link to post Share on other sites
Snow-Woman 0 Posted May 16, 2007 Author Share Posted May 16, 2007 Some polls! Link to post Share on other sites
TheOrange 0 Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Most places are like this but Kyoto especially so - got to do your homework before you go I think to make the most of it. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 I agree...Used to love going to Kyoto when I lived in different cities in Japan; now I live here and love it more...though I dont really get to enjoy it much But what I have seen, and have had friends show me, Kyoto really is a wonderful place - except for all the damn tourists Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 It's wasn't an unique experience for me. Kinda been there done it feeling about it. Link to post Share on other sites
veronica 2 Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Same here, though again I think that a whirlwind tour of the main places is going to do that for you. I much preferred my couple of days in Nikko, which is surrounded by lots of really nice countryside as well. Sounds like in the future CB will be the one to consult on all things Kyoto! Link to post Share on other sites
Kumapix 0 Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 CB have you checked out the temple with the well that leads to hell? If you look down it and think of someone close who passed away, they will visit you in a dream the following Obon. My favourite spot is Sesshu's house and garden. In the right season the turtle looks alive! Eating yatsuhashi & warabimochi is the bomb! Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 The well that leads to hell? Sounds like my desk at school right now mate - too busy to do much and all my mates are over in Osaka/Kobe so I actually cant be arsed going out much. Bank account is nice now though Cant wait for those bonuses too!! Link to post Share on other sites
daver 0 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 mixed feelings. the city is great, and it really has a wonderful character, but to take a page from alex kerr; the station!!!!!! the needle!!!!! ..... Link to post Share on other sites
Ezorisu 0 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 You have to really love temples and shrines or be a Japanese history buff to fully enjoy Kyoto. If you go in early spring during cherry blossoms season or in autumn when the leaves turn, your experience can benefit from the added atmosphere. Link to post Share on other sites
Oyuki kigan 0 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 The people are really cool in Kyoto, they ar a lot of interesting things and events happening there, and not in a traditional sense either. Music, politics, and art seem to be strong there. As for traditional stuff, it was exciting the first time. But after living in Japan for a while, i realized that it was basically no different than any other city, except that it has a few more temples. I've been to places that have much more of a "Kyotoesque" feeling than Kyoto. Obuse, in Nagano for example. Except for the tourist areas, it is another ugly Japanese city, made even uglier by that station. I can't express my contempt for that thing. I spit on it whenever i have to go into it. Link to post Share on other sites
samurai 0 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 sanjusangendo. I thought that was a pretty impressive temple. Other than that... yada yada. Ninja stars were fun to buy though. Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 What exactly is wrong with the station? Is it even worse than a normal shinkansen station? Link to post Share on other sites
snowbender 3 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Not as good as I wanted it to be though I was kinda expecting that. I much preferred Nara when I went to both and yes a place like Nikko is the best for me too. Link to post Share on other sites
Oyuki kigan 0 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Originally Posted By: scouser What exactly is wrong with the station? Is it even worse than a normal shinkansen station? Well, i suppose it depends on what you think a building that is most people's introduction to the 'Cultural Capital' of Japan should look like. Before it was made, there were two main designs competing. The crowd favorite was a long, low building, a homage to old japanese stations and the original low-rise architecture of Kyoto. The other (and the one that was picked) is basically a concrete cube, puntuated with Metal and glass. It is roomy on the inside, with a 7-flight escalator ride that is kinda interesting. Aesthetically, i don't find the station attractive. And if it was placed somewhere in Tokyo, perhaps it might blend in with the architectural mish-mash and clutter there. But it ignores (and some would say conciously insults) Kyoto's wood and paper history. In Japanese, if you put the Character Kyo (meaning Kyoto) in front the name of something (like food), it implies that not only is is something of high quality it is also delicate and restrained. The traditional arts of Kyoto are beautiful because of their sensitivity to their surroundiongs and simple elegance. The station is the exact opposite of that. thats why i hate it. It is a slap in the face of everything good that i feel Kyoto stands for. Link to post Share on other sites
Oyuki kigan 0 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 last summer, i went to Kyoto with my friend Gollum and pretty much summed it up when he said "stupid fatsy architects make their buildingses too high! we can`'t see the lovely mountains or temple rooveses, can we preciousssssss... We hates them, the architects! we hates them forever!" Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 cb buy a kayak you are only 30 to 1 hour away from a nice spot to yak Link to post Share on other sites
fjef 0 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 I remember steeping out of the train on my first visit to Kyoto many years ago and being completely overwhelmed by the view of the MacDonald's Temple and Kentucky Fried Chicken Shrine you can see right from the platform! Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 It is incredible how they would allow shit on such a big scale like that to be made. Are there no laws against these things? Reminds me of the time my dad wanted to extend the garage we have.... took about a year of planning permission wrangles only to be turned down because of some "light issues" that seemed totally ludicrous. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 will get a car after my winter bonus mate so will have to wait till then. Too hard makin plans with Tatsu as that fools too busy...Katsu is always outta town too for really long extnded periods. Link to post Share on other sites
Oyuki kigan 0 Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 GG, read 'Dogs and Demons'. It will make everything clear about why stuff like that gets built. There is also an initiative to build a french-style bridge in Pontocho, over the river... Link to post Share on other sites
lin 0 Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 I was lucky to be taken around for a friend - someone who knows it well. I can imagine it makes a big difference. Link to post Share on other sites
tsondaboy 0 Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 I was there 2 weeks ago and liked it very much. I was there only for 2 days and didn’t have the time to go everywhere I had planed, so I wanna go again sometime in the future. The best thing we did when being there was to rent bicycles and move all around Kyoto on them. 銀閣寺 Ginkakuji 金閣寺 Kinkakuji 祇園 Gyon 龍安時 Ryuanji 龍安時 Ryuanji Link to post Share on other sites
@tokyo 14 Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 Great photos tsondaboy Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 Originally Posted By: Oyuki kigan GG, read 'Dogs and Demons'. It will make everything clear about why stuff like that gets built. About Alex Kerr (the guy who wrote 'Dogs and Demons' and 'Lost Japan').... I was on the JET program in Kagawa a number of years ago and the AJET crowd got very involved in the Chiori project (Kerr's house in Central Shikoku which he 'restored'). A lot of JETs praised his book and most of my friends had met him and spent weekends with him in the mountains of Tokushima. I think the 'shine' wore off though, as people got to know him. Read his stuff, but I'd say the guy's got a pretty clear agenda and he sings the same song over and over again. He asserts certain things over and over again. And then he asserts them again. Namely: --He's an expert in Japanese and all things Japanese and Chinese because he has advanced degrees at Oxford and Yale in Chinese and Japanese studies. --Japanese are corrupt, they rape the environment and have no sense of aesthetics. --When he came to Japan, all of Japan's cultural assets were still intact for him to enjoy, but now they have all vanished so that we--the readers, will never get to experience them. I'm very skeptical of a lot of information that he presents as 'fact'. His book is full of half-truths which strike a chord with short term disgruntled foreign residents who live in big cities. There's nothing wrong with being a disgruntled short term foreign resident in a big city, but read his books critically. They're entertaining enough and nice quick reads. I've never been to his house or met him but the final verdict of a lot of the Kagawa JETs seems to be that the guy's a wanker (but that doesn't mean he's not a good writer). Link to post Share on other sites
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