Japan - Day 1 (Kyoto)

hanging terrace, originally uploaded by namealus.

Day 1 in Japan was spent in Kyoto, which is the former capital of Japan. While the number of places to see in Kyoto is staggering, we only have one day to spend. As a result, we tried to see as much as we can. We may have tried a little too hard as we got really tired at the end of the day. The reward is some of the most beautiful places I've ever seen (Kiyumizu-dera, Sanjusangen-do, and Kinkaku-ji) and some of my favorite pictures (such as the one above of Kiyumizu-dera).

Itinerary:
- Can't sleep
- Left hotel room at 6:30am
- Arrived at Osaka Station at 6:45am
- Took the JR Kyoto Line from Osaka Station; arrived at Kyoto Station at 7:15am
- Took the JR Nara Line from Kyoto Station; arrived at Inari Station at 7:45am
- Visited Fushimi Inari Shrine
- Took the JR Nara Line back to Kyoto Station
- Had breakfast at Kyoto Station (Japanese breakfast sets)
- Bought a day-pass for Kyoto City Bus and took the Raku #100 bus to Sanjusangen-do
- Visited 1,000 Buddhas at Sanjusangen-do
- Took the Raku #100 bus to Kiyomizu-dera stop
- Walked uphill for about 700m on Kiyomizu-waka to Kiyomizu-dera
- Took a break at the top of the hill
- Took gazilion pictures at Kiyomizu-dera (see above)
- Walked down Sannen-zaka
- Had lunch at Aunbo (Modern Japanese cooking)
- Tried to find the bus stop for #59 bus to get to Kinkaku-ji (apparently I can't tell the difference between Sanjo and Shijo)
- Gave up and shopped
- Tried again; found the #59 bus; the bus left just as we spotted it; had to wait for another 15 minutes (by this time, wifey was about to give up)
- Got on the #59 bus
- Got off at Kinkakuji-mae and visited Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion)
- Got back on #59
- Got off at Ryoanji-mae and visited Ryoan-ji (stone garden)
- Got back on #59
- Got off at the Takashimaya stop in downtown Kyoto
- Looked around for food and stuff for a little bit, but didn't buy anything
- Got on the city bus bound for Kyoto Station
- Took the Shinkansen train to Shin-Osaka Station
- Took the Midosuji line to Namba Station
- Visited Dotombori and had dinner at an okonomiyaki (and takoyaki) place called Crue-ro (yeah, weird!)
- Walked around in Dotombori and Shinsaibashi-suji
- Walked for 10 minutes to the Shinsaibashi station on the most tired legs I've ever had (so far)
- Got on the Midosuji line to Yodoyabashi Station
- Walked for 10 minutes to the hotel on the most tired legs I've ever had (yeah, worse than before)
- Crashed on the bed

Pictures are here.