First day in Japan: Monday

OK so i woke up freaking early on Monday here like 5am.
My time clock is so screwed up its not even funny.

We covered alot of ground today.
We went to Kyoto City.
It is basically where the temples are located and there was alot of them.

Morning walk was fun.
Like I said, having a black guy beside you gets attention.
I mean we were just outside for 5 minutes and people were already staring.
We passed by a school and the kids were saying Hello and waving. LOL
I'm telling you it's like we were important. Felt like a celebrity.
Junior is a commodity. LOL

Getting to the subway system was an easy walk.
Again, there were so many bicyclist. You name it and their on bikes.
Business man, school people, random person. They seem to use their bikes to reach the train.
Outside the train station there was not many cars parked but boy oh boy for bikes.

First stop was Golden Temple.
On the way there we were still getting looks because of Junior.
That's fine since I liked the attention.

In their Train you don't have a set amount of money to pay. Like $2.75 for a trip.
You pay how far your distance is. our price was 450 yen. Imagine 100 yen being $1.
Atleast that's how it's calculated.
Their bus system is also weird. The entrance is in the back and you pay when you get off.
I asked Andrew, what happens if you can't pay and your already at your destination, he just said your screwed. Could mean anything apparently.

The Golden Temple
It was looked awesome but it was so far away that we couldn't go inside it.
Basically, they were rebuilding it because it was breaking down or something like that. Nothing really much to do here. It was just that temple for tourist like us.



The Silver Temple

Note: Keep in mind that these temples are not close to each other. A good walk is required and man we did a lot of walking yesterday.

There was alot to see in this temple.
Zen Sand art, basically art with silver sands.
Old Kyoto Houses.
A praying section. There's a bell that you ring while you pray or make a wish.

After we were done with that, there was a path called "The Road of Philosophy"
That was a good 30-40 minute walk. You were suppose to feel some deep meaning of your life or something philosophical when you reach the end of the road. I was reaching into my mind for answers to all of the questions racing in my mind while on the road. Like, where are we going to eat, what are we going to eat and how much it would cost. I guess I was felt hungry after.

We met up with Andrew's friend name Ibuki in another temple.
She was real nice. She knew great english since she was in Vancouver for a year.
Andrew was telling her to watch out for Junior. LOL.

We went to drink Purified water.
It was water that was from the mountain streaming down for you to drink.
When you drink, you are suppose to be invigorated or purified.
I just went because I was freaking thirsty.
It was 200 yen. $2 buck for a cup of water. It came with a cup which we kept. lol
Here's a video of me being purified:



After the temple, we went out to eat OKINIYAMAKI i think.
It was this weird food that had a stingy taste. It was good but I don't think I will be eating alot of those.

We ended up in the shopping district so I asked where I can get a bag for my Girl back home.
Being the picky person that I am, it took 1 hour before we finally got one.
I think i got great taste because it looked great.

Oh and by the way, it is around 4pm when we were walking around.
School and work was over and again it was weird that Junior is being stared at like crazy.
I basically stood right beside him all the time so that he blends in well.

I asked if we can go to a Game Center, i wanted to check out the game i play.
I played Tekken for 5 minutes and that's it. They were not that good in there.
We were about to go home after that but Junior asked if we can go to a Karaoke place.

We spent 3 hours in that karaoke place. It was real fun but you really lose your voice after the first 2 hours. Here's a video for you guys to watch:

This is me and Junior:


I know what your thinking but apparently this is a billion dollar business in Asia so don't laugh.
It was mad fun. They had new and old music. Might go back there before the week ends.

After that we just ate and then went home.
I have a lot of pictures for sightseeing and a few videos.
I wont release them all online so if you guys want to see my trip Pictures later, just ask.

I do want to say this about Japanese males. They were so skinny.
They were like me 2 or 3 years ago.
Junior was telling me that they don't eat alot in here or they eat enough just to be full.
They don't over do it like North America.
I was also happy that I was taller that most people. lol

Japanese people are like canadians, they were really polite.
They would say sorry for nudging you or for being in the way.
I guess they were taught that way which is cool.

I like that fact that when I enter a convenience store, I get a Hello and thank you for coming in greeting. Of course it sounded like a chore but hey it works for a tourist like me. LOL

I'll keep you guys posted some more tomorrow.
I am listening to Junior snore and talk to himself right now.

Russell

Japanese words learned today:
Kunichiwa - hello
Gumenn - sorry, i said this alot
Hiei - No it's ok or just plain NO