I traveled to Kyoto and Sikoku(the 4th island other than Kyusyu, Hokkaido, and the main island) with my friends for 5 days(form 3-13-06 to 3-17-06). It cost about 50,000 yen in total including gas, tolls and boarding, etc. I spent about 20,000 yen extra for two dinners (my treats) and souveniors. However, it was worthy of time and money. Here are some photos we've taken.
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Toyoko Inn, a national business hotel chain in Japan, was the hotel we stayed for the trip. You can reserve rooms online at www.toyoko-inn.com and price ranges from 6000 yen (single) to 8000 yen (twin) depending on locations. Japanese breakfast is included. |
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Breakfast provided at Toyoko inn. |
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Me and the famous temple(ôèâ©ÞÑ; Clear Water Temple; Kiyomiztera). Cold but very sunny day it was. |
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Another temple (ÑõàÉÞÑ: South
Tranquility Temple). |
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A private garden near the temple
of tranquility. Entrance fee is 500 yen. |
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The sand garden of Kinkakujin (ëÞÊÈÞÑ: Silver Tower Temple). It looks like a cement but it is a salted (to make shapes) white sand. White dots are snow. |
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The sand garden from another angle. Right is supposed to be silver-colored tower, I guess. I didn't see any silver tower, which was obvious when we visited the Ginkakujin(ÐÝÊÈÞÑ: Gold Tower Temple) later. |
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An over view of Kinkakujin. You
can see the downtown Kyoto. |
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The famous Ginkakujin(ÐÝÊÈÞÑ: Gold Tower Temple) and me. I visited here 17 years ago and I still had a clear memory of the gold tower. |
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On the street of the downtown Kyoto.
Gees... I am losing weight. |
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A bridge over to Sikoku. There
are two more bridges like this to connect the main island and Sikoku. |
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Me at Togo Spa, the oldest spa inJapan. A legend says it is 3000 years old. Inside? Well, it is like the other spas in Japan except the facilities are very old looking. Prices are fare. |
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Inside of the spa. After this, photos are not allowed. However, don't be alarmed when a cleaning lady walks in when you are butt-naked. They are just doing their jobs, at least from their looks. |
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A city tower at night, just in front
of the hotel. |
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Every rest area you go, they sell
their own local foods and snacks. At least the wraps are different.
Korea needs to learn this. |
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On the way back to Tsukuba, we dropped by a Korean grocery in Tokyo and had our dinner nearby. You can buy most of the Korean food you need. Also, you can mail-order (via catalog) most of them. Not much price difference here and Korea. But if you buy Korean food in Tsukuba, it will csot you a lot more. |
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