Arigatoo Japan (part 3)

(START AT THE BOTTOM – Arigatoo Japan part one) :)

Our last stop might have been my favorite. We went to Kiyomizu Temple which is a Buddhist Temple on the top of a hill. It was surrounded by narrow streets filled with shops and vendors. It reminded me of Sacre Couer in Paris, which is another favorite spot of all time. To find someplace so incredibly private (in the sense that spirituality and religion is so private and personal) amidst such a bustling fun little community is so incredibly great. At the Temple, we had our fortunes given to us (and translated by Hiroko – mine said “I will have great success. I will be very successful if I continue to follow my path. You should go your own way and you will meet success.”), drank from a spring that is believed to make all your wishes come true, watched people praying and completing their prayers, and shopped. It was so wonderful and so beautiful. Friends, if I ever hear that any of you travel to Japan and don’t go here, I will be SO incredibly mad at you. It was truly an amazing experience.

Kiyomizu Temple VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Japan treated me incredibly well. I had amazing food, saw beautiful things, and got to have fun with my friends. What more can you ask for? HEATED TOILETS.

This, I have to tell you about. The technology is amazing. The public toilets were incredibly impressive (most of the time). Occasionally, we would run into a public bathroom that was traditional Japanese style (fancy toilet hole in the ground and then squat) – those were hard to use. The “western toilets”, as they are referred to here, are so incredible though. Most everywhere, they are heated, include a bodai and “front bodai” (as I would call it to the guys), a button that plays a water sound while you are going in case you are shy.. Some have sanitizing stations that clean them. Some have extra buttons to change the pressure/scent of the bodai… It was truly impressive. I didn’t experiment much (TMI I apologize) but I’ll tell you what I did, and that was enjoy the heck out of those heated seats when it was freezing out! :)

(See that whole panel of buttons on the wall?!)

The last thing I feel like I need to tell you all about Japan, is the trains. The culture in itself is very quiet. You can be walking down the street and barely hear any talking. The train cars? Silent. It’s a little eery and I have to tell you was very hard for Craig and me. I would often find myself cracking up at a joke or something… not so much that I disturbed anyone, but it just felt like we were breaking a rule because it was SO QUIET. The other thing about them? They are so dang crowded at rush hour! There was a time when I saw a man who’s feet literally closed in the door, and when he slid them back, it squished his nose! (photo below – sorry for the blurry iPhone pic but it had to happen.)

The last awesome thing? They sent us out with a band and fanfare. Adorable. I have videos if anyone would like to see it!

If you made it this far and aren’t related in some way to me, you deserve a medal! Thanks for reading about my experience in Japan. I truly loved it.

Here we come China!!