My Trip to Kyoto and Osaka!

I stepped onto the ferry and got to the room where I`d be staying with my friend Mizuki and four strangers for the night. First time on boat for 11 hours straight; I prayed I woudln`t be sick. But even being sick couldn`t put a damper on my mood, I was going to Kyoto! AND Osaka!

After a night of restless sleep, we arrived in Kobe, where we took a train to Osaka. After cramming our luggage into a tiny locker, we had the entire day to ourselves. And only one place we really wanted to go. America-Mura! It seems a bit ironic to go to an American-themed place when I finally got the chance to go to Osaka, and to be honest I was a bit skeptical at first too. But once we got there, all doubt faded away.

Us with our shopping bags

America-Mura is basically a shopping neighborhood for people who are into `American` fashion, which means tons of Adidas, oversized hoodies, and bright colors. For Mizuki and me it was heaven. As soon as we started shopping I knew coming with Mizuki was the right choice, because we share a similar, slightly crazy sense of fashion. And America-Mura is perfect for anyone who wants to be different from the norm. Every store person was incredibly kind, and we got clothes discounted several times just from being friendly. It was truly the best way we could have spent the day!

Also got to try famous Osaka takoyaki, which kind of tastes the same as every other place ahah. This could be because Miyazaki, the place I`m living now, is said to have the most delicious meat and fish in Japan. So even when I eat out at restaurants in Kyoto and Osaka, I find myself craving Miyazaki food.

Osaka`s takoyaki

After getting home late, we were up early once again to spend the day in Kyoto. This time, our day was carefully planned out. First, we went to a Kimono rental store. I chose a blue kimono to help bring out the color of my eyes, and Mizuki chose a black kimono because it gives off a cool image.

Every minute I was feeling closer to Mizuki, and even though it was my first time meeting her, I loved Mizuki`s cousin Tamami too.

The first shrine we went to was the famous gold shrine, which is either painted gold or made out of gold. It was absolutely beautiful. As expected, there were TONS of tourists rushing to take pictures, and we took plenty as well. Also ate matcha icecream with gold flakes on top!

Delicious!

After the gold shrine, we went to another shrine that I can`t really explain with words so I`ll just show a picture.

The time at this shrine was really fun! It was a lot of walking, but they also had really delicious food and we met a kind stranger. He was taking a selfie and I jokingly posed in the corner of the photo, and he laughed and had us all take a selfie together. We saw him later and he sent me the photos!

Such a nice dude!

Also, since we were in kimonos, people took our pictures without asking. That was something I did not expect. Whenever I noticed people taking our picture I`d always pose, which usually made them laugh and take more. One Chinese couple swept up behind us and very forcefully took a picture, but that was also a fun experience.

After that shrine we went around and ate a ton of matcha flavored things, like cake, yogurt, etc. After all, Kyoto is famous for matcha!

We spent the final day shopping for souvenirs and shopping in Kyoto, too worn out from the past two fun-filled days to really do much. And then we were on a plane and back to our life in Miyazaki!