Things to do in Amsterdam

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 Amsterdam Every year, to celebrate my birthday, I travel somewhere, in 2019 I went to Morocco , in 2020 to Israel and this year (2022) I decided to visit Amsterdam. It was a long time since I wanted to visit this city and there I have a friend that I wanted to see, so with these three points combined, I decided to visit Amsterdam in winter. I spent five days in Amsterdam and I visited the city plus some places outside like Zaanse Schans, Zandvoort and Haarlem. One important thing is that I forgot my camera so all the pictures were taken with my phone, maybe the quality is not high but I think they are anyway beautiful. Amsterdam is the capital and the most populous city of the Netherlands, with a population close to a million. It is colloquially referred to as the "Venice of the north" due to the large number of canals which form a UNESCO world heritage site since 2010. Amsterdam was founded at the Amstel, the city's name derives from the Amstel dam, originating as a sm

Things to do in Kyoto Japan

Kyoto

It was the end of my trip to Japan, I was coming from Osaka and Kyoto was the last city before to come back to Europe. 
The old capital of Japan Kyoto keeps the charm of a traditional Japanese city. I passed there for 4 days and I got in love with it, a treasure, something incredible every corner, my favourite city in Japan.
I apologise for the long post, but I had a really nice time there and a lot of things to share and show. Here I will make a sort of list about things to do in Kyoto, or at least what I visited and my impressions.

Kyoto imperial palace

The first place that I visited in Kyoto was the imperial garden, it's a huge park around the imperial palace. That morning the park was empty, probably because earlier it was raining, so for me, the feeling was like getting lost in nature, more or less like the man in the picture.



The Kyoto imperial palace is the former ruling palace of the Emperor of Japan, until 1868 the Imperial family was living there.
Walking around the imperial palace walls, I discover that a reservation is needed to visit the palace because the access is only for guided tours.
There was a school class walking around the walls and I followed them trying to understand if they were able to get inside the walls, and maybe sneak in with them, but it didn't work.

Golden Temple Kyoto

The golden pavilion Kyoto is one of the must-see places, in fact, it was really crowded and, to be honest, I didn't enjoy it. I'm not sure if I can suggest visiting it, as you can see in the picture it's really beautiful, but it is full of tourists and Kyoto has a lot of other beautiful places to offer.
Kinkaku-ji is a zen Buddhist temple, it is a national special historic site, a national special landscape and one of the 17 locations of the historic monuments of ancient Kyoto. 

Kamo river

To enjoy the nice weather I decided to walk beside the river, and it was really nice. As you can see from the picture Kyoto is a very traditional Japanese city, without tall ad modern buildings, and I really appreciate this. Kyoto and Osaka have a similar population but they are quite different types of cities, I don't know if the guys in the picture can enjoy a sunny day in the same way also in Osaka.

  

Walking beside the Kamo river I saw a lot of people chilling, chasing the sun, spending their free time like the people in the picture. 
I took this picture mainly for the building, It is different from the others around, and I don't know why, but I think it's a brewery if you know Japanese tell me what is written on it, maybe we can understand what it is. 

Gion Kyoto

Gion is a district of Kyoto, the area was built to accommodate the needs of travellers and visitors of the Gion Shrine, it eventually evolved to become one of the most exclusive and well known Geisha-district of all Japan.
I have to tell you that I discover that the place in the below picture is really famous for the movie "Memoirs of a geisha" while I was writing this blog, I've been there just randomly.
A question for you: do you know why the fence has the writes? and what does it mean?.

Maruyama Park

Near the Gion area, there is Maruyama park, a big green area with a lot of temples and shrines inside. This is a real must to see, there is a wonderful every corner. This is noted as the main for cherry blossom viewing (hanami) in Kyoto. I was there in the first part of November 2019, at the starting of the momingi period, when maple leaves become yellow/red.
In the park there is a big lake, a really beautiful, and peaceful place; close to it there was a lot of people wearing kimono, the trees combined with the traditional clothes were an explosion of colours.




The most famous Shrine in the park is the Yasaka Shrine, a Shinto shrine dedicated to Susanoo (god of the sea and storms) on the east, and eight offspring deities on the west. 
While I was visiting this place, I had a mixture of luck and intention that gave me the opportunity to shoot the picture before the last one of this part; I was following the two girls in kimono and when I decided to take the picture I saw the other two and I thought it was the right moment. This picture represents the spirit of Japan: a fusion between past and future, traditions and modernity.
Hokanji Temple is one of the landmarks in Kyoto, located in Higashiyama area, one of the most historical spots in Kyoto. Higashiyama is known for the cobbled alley street that remains the same from the old Kyoto period. Hokanji Temple was built in the 6th century and it is now coming in the form of a five-story pagoda, 46 meters tall. 

Fushimi Inari Taisha

Coming back from Nara I stopped in Fushimi Inari, a famous shrine with torii gates.
This first picture it's the extension of the previous one, a fusion between the past and the future. Probably, because the place is really touristic, the family in the picture rented the kimono but anyway the concept is valid.
The highlight of the Fushimi Inari shrine is the rows of torii gates (Senbon Torii). The custom to donate a torii started to spread since the Edo period to get a wish to become true or to thank for a wish that became true. Along the main path, there are around 1,000 torii gates.




Fushimi Inari is really touristic and crowded, especially in the first part of the senbon torii, what I suggest is to be patient and walk after the first part, or go in the early morning, it's open 24 hours.
Taking this picture was a test of my patience because this part was not really crowded but anyway, people were passing, and finding a free moment to shoot took time; fortunately, the lady was posing for someone else that had the same problem.
  


The shrine sits at the base of a hill also named Inari, and includes trails, the senbon torii, up the hill to many smaller shrines which span 4 kilometres. Inari was originally and remains primarily the kami (spirits, holy powers) of rice and agriculture, but merchants and manufacturers also worship Inari as the patron of business.
At the end of the trail, is possible to walk down the hill on a "normal" street without torii and get back to the railway station, or you can also follow back the senbon torii.

Daigo-ji Temple

I went to see this temple on my last day in Kyoto only because my friend Tami sent me a beautiful Instagram picture of it. 
Daigo-ji is laid down in three parts, on the first picture you can see the view from inside Sambō-in, which is a temple with a tea garden, a museum and other complexes.
The second picture is from a room with a terrace in front of the tea garden; it is prohibited to take a picture in that room, and also there was a private shooting at that moment!.
The guard saw me, but I had already taken this one, and I really like it, is like peeking at someone, and looking at the picture relax me because the lady is like enjoying the moment with a cup of tea.
Kondō is the temple behind the lady in yellow in the third picture, it is the central hall in the Daigo-ji complex, and the seated statue of Yakushinyorai (the Healing Buddha, the main devotion of the temple) is the principal image of Daigo-ji Temple.





Beside the Kondō (golden hall), there was a ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Fudodo, Goma-dojo temple. From the picture above is possible to see musicians, I don't know if they were also monks, and from the picture below is possible to see the monks. The ceremony was a mixture of praying (mantra) and music.
At one point there was a bonfire and monks and the audience were throwing sticks on it, fortunately, I was with the girl that hosted me and she told me that the sticks represented wishes that, burning, went directly to the gods.




Bentendo hall is dedicated to Benzaiten (Sarasvati), the goddess of knowledge, liberal arts and music, and is generally known as one of seven deities of good fortune (Shichifukujin).
As I said before, I came here because of an Instagram picture, and the picture was from this temple; the place was magical as the one from the picture.
I was lucky to be there in the perfect period, maybe a bit before the perfect period. The place was magical because in autumn the maples and ginkgos turn red and yellow (momigi); so the combination between the leaves, the vermilion hall and the pond draw amazing scenery.
A nice way to say goodbye to one of my favourite cities in the world. 
The same day I went to Kyoto station to take a shinkansen fast train Kyoto Tokyo directly, in two hours I was in Tokyo were a couple of days after I took a flight back to Europe.

Comments

  1. Lovely photos! The colors of the Fall leaves adds so much to the scenery.

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    1. Thank you! Japan is not only sakura, but also maple leaves in autumn!

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  2. Thank you for taking me on a trip to Kyoto! I really enjoyed your post and hope one day I will get to see this lovely city in person.

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  3. Some amazing shots here! "Memoirs of a Geisha" has been on my reading list for such a long time so you've just re-reminded me of the book. You've also completely re-invoked my desire to travel to Japan. A great post!

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    1. Thank you!! Hope you can visit Japan soon!!

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  4. Such an eye-pleasing journey! Completely mesmerized. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. These pictures are absolutely stunning! Loved it.

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  6. Beautiful pictures! Thank you for sharing them.

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  7. I envy you! I'd love to go to Japan. Maybe one day!

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    1. You will do it for sure!! And you will enjoy an amazing country!

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  8. Oh man, this looks amazing. Japan is on my bucket list to visit one day.

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  9. Kyoto looks so cute and so authentic, I would love to visit..

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    1. It is! My favourite city in Japan!! It keeps the charm or the old capital

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  10. What a great read! Japan is definitely on my bucket list :) I love the fact that you said there are no high rise buildings here in Kyoto. It's such a great thing to hear, as I think it would ruin the beautiful landscape. You have some beautiful photos :)

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    1. Thank you for the comment! Japanese want to keep the city as traditional as possible, like when it was still the capital.

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