Turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, in Kyoto.

There are places I never dreamed I’d visit, art I never thought I would be worthy of seeing in person, food I never imagined sampling and landscapes too rich and wild that seeing them in person feels like a dream. Japan was on this list of “nevers.” That is until a week ago when Matt reminded me that due to work priorities and my need to spend two months of the upcoming Fall finding my way through the Australian outback, that we had one last chance at an adventure together before heading back to Seattle. We booked ferry tickets that evening and took off on what has been one of our most fulfilling, spontaneous and life-changing adventures to date.

The beetle ferry from Korea’s southern port in Busan takes three hours to cross into Japan’s Fukuoka port city. With speedy and clean transportation and affordable rates this was the best option for us to get from Korea to Japan. Upon arriving at Fukuoka’s train station we broke one of the cardinal rules of travel: always check currency conversion rates. We boarded the bullet train headed for Kyoto after purchasing what we THOUGHT were equivalent to 29,000 won tickets. Three hours later after arriving at “bullet” speed to our next destination it occurred to us that we had just spent 29,000 YEN on train tickets. I’m not even going to convert to USD for any of you folks because it is just too painful to admit. Never the less the Shinkansen (new main line) is a scene in and of itself reaching speeds of 300km/hr! This was certainly the most luxurious transportation Matt and I will EVER have the pleasure of taking.

With only two days in Kyoto and plans to meet up with some long lost friends from Australia, we had a packed itinerary. First stop was the Higashi Hongan-Ji temple close to Kyoto’s train station. The temple was founded in 1603 and exists as a massive, gleaming reminder of Japan’s Daimyo rule. Each beam glitters with gold making this temple a dazzling must-see sight. Next up was the National Museum of Modern Art displaying Trouble in Paradise/Medi(t)ation of survival. We spent a good three hours playing in the museum’s second floor, hands on exhibition, exploring relationships between space and object. After hunting for silk kimonos and Geisha sightings in Nishijin textile center I was lured into a kimono fashion show where not only did I get to feast my eyes on dozens of beautifully handcrafted silk garments, but also had the pleasure of meeting the little green work-a-holics behind the scene, SILK WORMS! After purusingChicago for a second hand kimono, the Vapor’s “Turning Japanese” was officially on continuous play in my mind and I wanted nothing more than to live and breathe Japan the rest of my days.

We sampled sake into the wee hours in the famous Geisha district, Gion, and I quickly saw the international and quirky appeal of Kyoto. Within six blocks we hit up a wine bar, an underground reggae joint (underground I mean in the most literal sense as the music was completely mainstream but refreshing), the “Bob Dylan bar”, and a private party held inside a sake bar the size of a tea shop. A night-cap ontop of Kyoto-eki (train station) perfectly summed up a vibrant and whirlwind look at one of the world’s most intricate cities.

Maybe it was the company I was so fortunate to be sharing, old travel stories coming up for air, the sake, the delicate and meandering sidewalks, the neon signs perched next to edo architecture or that feeling of being back on the road, but Kyoto is where I fell in love with Japan and back in love with the hobby I have restled with the past year. I will never stop travelling and I would be a lucky lucky girl if I found myself back in Kyoto any day. Off for the climb of my life, Fuji here I come.