Japan 2025: Kyoto

Our last days in Osaka took us to a Kushikatsu cooking experience. This is a type of tempura which allowed us to choose our favourite skewers from among many choices: vegetables, beef, pork, chicken, scallops, octopus, the list goes on. We dipped into batter, rolled in a coating and deep fried our skewers at our tables.  

After lunch we transferred to Dotonbori, the equivalent of Osaka’s Times Square only, I think, even more amazing with a food street, a shopping street and a massive arcade. The rain didn’t dampen the students’ enthusiasm as many of the streets in Japan are covered to protect pedestrians from the elements. We then moved on to a BBQ buffet where students barbecued at their tables. The candy floss machine and the crepe maker were highlights for dessert. 

On Tuesday, we said goodbye to Osaka and transferred to Kyoto. Our first stop was the Kiyomizu-dera temple, with a large wooden main hall that was built without nails and houses a statue of the eleven-faced, thousand-armed Kannon. Students bought fortunes, worked together to lift the staffs the monks used and generally enjoyed this beautiful introduction to Kyoto. We checked into our hotel and headed out to enjoy a hot -pot dinner. 

Today we visited Nara where we visited a buddha museum and bowed to the many deer who responded with enthusiasm to the biscuits on offer by the students. The Nara Park deer are wild animals (although they seemed pretty tame to us) that have inhabited the area for over 1,300 years. They have long been regarded as divine envoys of the kami (Gods) of Kasugataisha Shrine and have, therefore, been carefully protected. This is a must see for visitors to Kyoto and, after our visit, we completed understand why. A visit to a shogun castle (Nijo) followed by a “Sumo” hot-pot dinner completed the day. 

As you can tell it’s been busy. Tomorrow is a down day with time for students to continue working on their courses although the students are looking forward to the sushi dinner that has been planned. I think we all need a bit of a rest although some students are planning to fit in a visit to the aquarium and others a bit of shopping. There is so much to see and do in this amazing country.

It’s hard to believe that we are almost halfway through our adventure.

さようなら
Sayōnara,
Kathy