Gold and Geisha at Kyoto

January 2007

It was my first and only time to experience staying in a backpacker hostel/ryokan. I lived in a dorm style room with shared bathrooms for a few nights. It was safe and clean but I just had to be careful with my valuables.

My bed

Kyoto is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million and was formerly the imperial capital of Japan.

Gion is the Geisha district in Kyoto. I was lucky enough to see real geisha's walking around and performing at the Gion theatre. Dont be fooled though, there are a lot of tourists in geisha costume due to the numerous "Geisha for a Day" tours.

At 2nd row of Gion theatre

One of the most outstanding Zen buddhist temple in the world is in Kyoto. The world renown Golden Pavilion is covered with pure gold leaves.

Its neighboring city, Nara, also boasts of its own temples specifically, Todajii, which houses Japan's largest buddha. By the time the Buddha was completed in 751, it had consumed most of Japan's bronze production for several years and left the country almost bankrupt.

Plan a trip to Kyoto/Nara if you are visiting Japan for this first time!