Kansai

Kinkakuji Temple

For the past week I have been in the Kansai region of Japan. Mainly in the Osaka/Kyoto area. The first part of the week I was in Osaka coaching tennis and sleeping on the floor of a classroom... On Sunday we took the kids to Universal Studios Japan. They had a blast going on all the different rides. It was pretty entertaining people watching, especially because many people were in Halloween costumes. After the team finished, I went to Kyoto and our other wonderful coach went back with the kids to Yokohama.

Toji Temple 

Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine

The first night I slept in a Capsule, at the Kyoto Capsule Ryokan. I only spent one night in the capsule because I tended to wake up whenever anyone else woke up. If I was a heavier sleeper it would have been fine... but alas, I am not. So the next morning I switched to a single room. The first day I explored norther Kyoto visiting Nishi-Honganji, Daitokuji Temple, Kinkakuji Temple, Ryoanji Temple, and Ninnaji Temple. The next day I visited Toji Temple, Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine, and then went to Arishiyama and walked around to various shrines and temples. The last full day I met up with an old high school friend and we roamed about on a mountain top overlooking lake Biwa. We walked around looking at a bunch of old buildings. After that we took a bus back to Kyoto and ate ramen and chatted for the rest of the evening. Overall it was a great trip. I didn't make it every where I wanted to but, Kyoto is only a 2 hour Shinkansen ride away, and I'm sure I will visit again.