A (2019) HalloXmas trip to Asia - Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo! - COMPLETED 5/1!!!

[cindianne320]

Wow! The sunset looked beautiful, and those garden were amazing. What a cool experience.

 

[KathyM2]

I got the Halloween set, Grilled Beef and vegetables (basically thin steak), Purple Potato Cream Soup, Chocolate cake with mint cream.

Wow, they are really big on the purple over there it seems! Glad it was good!! It sure was pretty! That mint cream did look a bit strange!

So, Tokyo DisneySea. Did I love it. Not exactly; I liked it, but love, not quite.

I'm sorry to hear that!! I had high expectations lol Maybe the rain?

 

[missjackiemcg]

Such beautiful pictures! How amazing it must look with the changing fall colors! Nice that there weren't big crowds there; I'm sure it was so peaceful!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Wow! The sunset looked beautiful, and those garden were amazing. What a cool experience.

Yeah it was fun!

Wow, they are really big on the purple over there it seems! Glad it was good!! It sure was pretty! That mint cream did look a bit strange!



I'm sorry to hear that!! I had high expectations lol Maybe the rain?

Purple potatoes all the way, lol!

I think the rain didn't help. And I think the park as a whole is gorgeous. Unfortunately I had some unpleasant crowds coming up later in the trip, so I don't feel like I ever really had the chance to fall in love!

Such beautiful pictures! How amazing it must look with the changing fall colors! Nice that there weren't big crowds there; I'm sure it was so peaceful!

Yeah definitely gorgeous colors! I was fortunate to be there before the worst crowds. A couple weeks later and it's just overrun!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Part 2 – Even more temples!

A little bit of a longer walk to my next spot. I used Google Maps to help navigate Kyoto, which would be good…except when they don’t warn you the “shortcut” is actually a steep alley!

This next spot was actually a complex with a couple of temples: Shinsho Gokurakuji (Shinnyodo Temple) and Konkai-Komyoji Temple. I loved how empty it felt (I think it’s not on the typical tour group route unless the fall colors are full).

https://www.travelcaffeine.com/shinnyodo-temple-info-kyoto-japan-tips/

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[Lesley Wake]

I made my way out of the temple and ended up catching a bus to my next spot, Nanzen-Ji Temple. This was a complex of many, many buildings (all of which had separate paid entry so I didn’t visit them all).

https://www.travelcaffeine.com/nanzenji-temple-kyoto-tips-review/

I loved the gardens here and could imagine sitting and resting for a while, though I didn’t end up doing it. Something sort of interesting was that the gardens within the main temple building all had platforms connecting them, so you just had to carry around your shoes the whole time! Glad I wore cute socks that day!

Another lovely reflecting pool

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[Lesley Wake]

An aqueduct on the property

I think there was another building on the property (Monks quarters), which I also paid to enter.

This was the massive wood building. You could pay to climb up to the top, but I skipped that.

Not sure which bldg. this is

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[Lesley Wake]

Another temple right next door, Tenjuan. Which had a nice koi pond in the back.

I think they also have a tea room, where you can experience a tea ceremony and look over another garden.

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[Lesley Wake]

A short break for “lunch” (it was actually mid-afternoon). And what else but ramen!

Oh and one thing I passed while walking was the Kyoto Zoo. Can I just say, do not visit it? I have high concerns about the quality of life for the animals – I could see the elephant and monkey paddocks from across the street and they were just basically concrete boxes (I’d compare it to the place from Rise of the Planet of the Apes).

Ok, better things, I made my way to Chionin Temple. It was close to closing for this one, so I just walked around the outside a bit (actually when I was leaving they had already closed the gate and were just allowing people to leave, not enter).

https://www.travelcaffeine.com/chion-in-temple-info-tips-review/

Coming up – Temples at night​

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

All of your photos are beautiful!

 

[KathyM2]

What an amazing experience visiting all those temples and gardens. So pretty. I could imagine spending some time there! Sorry to hear about the zoo, that's sad. What's the deal with the cute socks? Did I miss something? you have to take your shoes off even in a busy place like that? That must take some getting used to!

 

[lucas]

Beautiful pictures!

 

[Lesley Wake]

All of your photos are beautiful!

Thanks! It was worth it getting a fancy camera for the trip!

What an amazing experience visiting all those temples and gardens. So pretty. I could imagine spending some time there! Sorry to hear about the zoo, that's sad. What's the deal with the cute socks? Did I miss something? you have to take your shoes off even in a busy place like that? That must take some getting used to!

Yeah they were gorgeous!

Oh, when you are inside the temples, you can't wear shoes. They either have plastic bags available for you to carry them around with you, or you leave them at the entrance. People don't really pay attention to the socks, but I like having cute ones on, lol! And "inside temples" includes a lot of the wooden walkways around the outside (those are basically the hallways; the actual building interiors are just divided into rooms with doors either opening into each other, or into this outdoor platform).

Beautiful pictures!

Thanks!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Part 3 – Temple Illuminations

Kyoto does some cool things in the fall and spring, where some temples are open at night and have special lights (nighttime illumination). Many of those weren’t starting yet (waiting until the prime fall colors/tourist season), but I did get to check out a few.

First one, Shoren-in. (DTB doesn’t have a specific guide on this one and they said the illumination wasn’t as lovely as other ones, but I really loved it.)

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3954.html
This was only a couple blocks away from Chionin, so I got there pretty early and ended up sitting in the parking lot for about 1.5 hrs (to be fair, my feet needed the break).

My favorite area was this grassy area with tinkle lights all over and projections on the back wall that (I believe) cycled through the seasons. You actually encountered this lawn twice on the path thru the temple – once from above when you go on the walkways around the building, and again on a path through the lawn itself. Because I got there early enough I was able to see the lawn from above before people had started walking through it! It was also cool how quiet the whole place was. Very ethereal.

Some other gardens.

And the bamboo grove reminded me of a film I saw when I was a kid when Big Bird visited Japan and encountered some princess/goddess, with a memorable scene where she is walking through the shadows of a bamboo forest!

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[Lesley Wake]

I had one more stop for the evening, but to get there I walked by the closed Chion-in grounds

Another illumination, Kodaiji Temple.

https://www.travelcaffeine.com/kodai-ji-temple-info-tips-review/
Oh and I hope these photos are ok. Something weird went on with my fancy camera settings, so these are all via iphone 8.

The temple itself was a bit higher up so you could sort of see the Kyoto city lights through the trees.

They had an area where they had died some of the sand in the gardens. Spotlights cycled through lighting up certain portions, which I’m sure had some symbolism, but I didn’t know what!

Evening reflections in the gardens

Another bamboo mystical forest

After I left I wandered through Gion (unfortunately no geisha sightings) and found some dinner. You guessed it…ramen! (I don't mean to be obsessive about ramen, it was just something familiar and I could find great options for cheap everywhere.)

And then a bus back to the hotel and bed!

(Oh, one thing to note, this was actually Halloween! I didn’t see a lot of craziness or parties, so nothing too special to commemorate the actual day! Meanwhile at home my family had over 1,000 trick or treaters!)

Step Count: 25,635! Only beaten by my first day at SHDL!
Yeah, my feet were crazy tired

Coming up – The bigger temples in Kyoto​

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Thanks! It was worth it getting a fancy camera for the trip!

What camera did you end up getting? I got one as well, and haven't really used it. So terrible!

 

[Lesley Wake]

What camera did you end up getting? I got one as well, and haven't really used it. So terrible!

I got a Panasonic Lumix GX850. It isn't the fanciest, but I liked some of the features, including a monitor that swings to the side (for selfies) and a burst/video feature, which is how I got parade photos (and gifs). It also had an option to take a bunch of photos at once with different lighting features, so I could pick the best one. It could connect to an app on my phone to download direct if I wanted to post photos while travelling, but I didn't end up using it. I brought it with me to WDW over NYE, but didn't end up using it, just sticking to the camera phone.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Wow, all of the pictures are so pretty!! I really love those little twinkly lights on the lawn at night. Did you even notice them sticking out of the ground during the day??

The rock gardens are so interesting to look at. I literally know nothing about how that works--do they rake them out every day? Or only if the design gets disturbed by weather? In any case, so cool, and neat how they did the one with the colored sections!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

f I wanted to post photos while travelling, but I didn't end up using it. I brought it with me to WDW over NYE, but didn't end up using it, just sticking to the camera phone.

Using my phone sadly is just so much easier... Plus I think I still don't know how to use the one I bought. Maybe I can change that before we go to Disney again...

 

[Lesley Wake]

Wow, all of the pictures are so pretty!! I really love those little twinkly lights on the lawn at night. Did you even notice them sticking out of the ground during the day??

The rock gardens are so interesting to look at. I literally know nothing about how that works--do they rake them out every day? Or only if the design gets disturbed by weather? In any case, so cool, and neat how they did the one with the colored sections!

I actually never visited that temple during the day, so I don't know how obvious the lights were!

I'm actually not sure how the rock gardens are maintained. I think some designs are more famous, so they stay the same. Others change up with the seasons.

Using my phone sadly is just so much easier... Plus I think I still don't know how to use the one I bought. Maybe I can change that before we go to Disney again...

Yeah, I definitely understand that! Easier to just have a good phone to take photos with!