Temples, geishas, and gardens oh my

Our last destination in Japan was Kyoto, home of what seemed like thousands of Temples. We hopped on bikes and zipped across the city exploring temple after temple during our first day in town. Stopping for street food, bakeries and even a burger and fries along the way. One temple highlight held 1,001 statues of Buddha all lined up for your to see in one magnificent hall (photos not allowed). Kyoto is also famous for having geishas walk around the streets in between clients. Apparently, it is a rare occurrence when you see one, but on this early Saturday evening, we were lucky enough to see three girls moving about.  That evening we enjoyed our last round of Sake with our lightweight drinking laptop. It only took it a deep cleanse and a 7 day detox to recover. Thanks to the Apple stores genius bar in Beijing for helping us with it's recovery. View the entire gallery here.

While visiting the Japanese garden in Seattle a few years back I was in awe of it's beauty. The garden is quite small but it's packed with perfectly manicured lawns, beautiful ponds, colorful koi fish, bridges leading to more bridges and the always lovely lotuses on display. Knowing the beauty of a japanese garden we were very excited to see one in Japan.

The morning before we left Kyoto we found one near our hostel so we thought it would be a wonderful ending to our whirlwind adventure through Japan. It was a pretty garden, not quite as well executed as the one in Seattle, but it was a nice mellow way to end our final day before flying to China.

Where would you like to go?

The first time you take a look at the Tokyo subway system it can be a bit overwhelming, but looks can be deceiving. When everything is color coded and with every stop named it's almost impossible to get lost. Well, besides the one time that we walked the wrong direction out of the station but that wasn't really the subways fault. I'll blame Cassie for that one. 

One stop that is a must visit on the subway line is the Shibuya Station a short walk away from the busiest street crossing in the world. After exploring the Shibuya neighborhood for a few hours we found our way back to the station with high hopes. While Cassie didn't want to get shoved into the subway packed beyond belief, Mendel and myself had different goals. We waited for an extremely packed train, also found a long line waiting to board. We made sure to be the last guys on the train, even letting stragglers run past us. We finally boarded the train, unfortunately all the passagers fit like a bug in a rug, and we weren't shoved onto the train by the worker in white gloves. 

So fresh and so clean clean

With a city as clean as Tokyo it sorta makes you look for the dirty or grimmy side hiding away in the back alleys. Which honestly is even harder to find in the cities back alleys. So one day while walking around with our new friend Mendel from our hostel, I went searching for some street art. While I didn't find a lot of stuff I did find a few interesting peices which caught my attention. 

Fantasies do come true

Akihabara is an electronics and anime fans wonderland. There are multi-story technology stores selling the newest in gadgets around every corner. Cassie only let me walk through one store to ask a question, since she knew I could easily be in there for hours just goofing around. To make sure every geek is happy they also have anime stores filled with DVDs, comics and dolls stuck in promiscuous positions.

One thing everybody should see while visiting Akihabara is the cafes that also make this neighborhood famous. There are maid, mermaid, and even vampire themed cafes everywhere. While the food is nothing special the real attraction is the scantily dressed young girls who serve you while giggiling uncontrollably. It is quite fun when they make you clap and sing songs with them even though you have no clue what they are saying. No photos were aloud so you'll have to use your imagination. 

Sumo slam

Sumo wrestling, an ancient Japanese tradition that spans many centuries. Is a professional sport, only in Japan although participants are from all over the world. The wrestlers have to live in communal training stables known as heya where all aspects of their lives are lived by strict guidelines.

Once you get to the arena, you are shocked at how small the actual ring is. Next, two of the biggest men you've ever seen walk into the ring, bowing before they enter. They go through about three minutes of traditional rituals, which includes throwing salt, stretching, squatting, and slapping various parts of their bodies. One wrestler slapped his face, and the crowd went wild. So after all the anticipation, the bout finally begins with both wrestlers putting their hands on the ground. The very intense 5-10 seconds before someone gets pushed out or thrown to the ground, is worth the preparation. This is a fantastic sport, where not always the bigger guy wins.

While having lunch next to the arena, a sumo wrestler came in and sat next to us! Boy did he eat a lot... All in all we had a great time. We tried to predict who would win the bouts, and unfortunately I lost that battle.