We had planned to travel about an hour outside of Kyoto and go hiking in the hills but we felt like we needed a break so we decided to spend the day in the city instead. Kyoto is really beautiful, there are big rolling mountains all around the city which are covered in trees and there is a river that runs right through the city. The pace is definitely slower than in Tokyo so it’s fun to just stroll around.
We went to visit the Fushimi Inari Shrine which was very impressive. This is a unique place because it is home to hundreds of small shrines each with a specific purpose. Visitors pray at specific shrines depending on their needs (back pain, academic success, fortune, etc...). It is also unique because the EXTENSIVE trails within the grounds are covered by Tori gates (two orange poles that support a larger pole across the top). These gates are found wherever shrines are but never in these numbers. At times they were so closely laid that the provided shade from the sun. We hiked approximately half of the grounds UPHILL to a lookout. Even after an ice
cream break, we were still exhausted and called it quits after enjoying a beautiful view overlooking Kyoto. It was nice to get into the fresh air, especially after foregoing our originally planned hike.
After our hike we headed back to the Westin where we each got massages (we are on vacation after all!!!) and then headed out to dinner. We had wanted to stop in Kobe (~1hr from Kyoto) to enjoy some Kobe beef, but we weren’t feeling that ambitious so we visited a highly recommended “hole in the wall” called Grill Miyata. It was a basement restaurant hardly bigger than a living room in the Gion district of Kyoto. We sat at the bar (there was only one table, and then the bar) and ordered $100/pp Kobe beef dinners. The dinner was amazing and included course after course of delicious treats. The beef was like 
nothing we had ever had and was taken to task by our butter knives. The owners, though unable to speak English, kept feeding us beer and liquor. Us two wild party animals had our latest night as we arrived back at our hotel just after midnight after visiting an arcade (guess whose idea that was....) We also visited a gambling hall that was strange to us but very common in Japan (Video at bottom).
Though a departure from our itinerary, it slowed things down and offered a great day of relaxation and sightseeing.
There are lots of little tidbits of Japanese culture that we’ve come across that are neat and we wanted to share to give you a sense of what it’s like here.
Vending machines – vending machines are everywhere! Obviously there are lots in the train stations but also all along the streets. There are ones filled with all sorts of neat drinks, our favourites are Grape Fanta (Jess) and Royal Milk Tea (Steve – he is obviously 
much more cultured!). There are also ones for cigarettes which feature a white, bald guy with huge muscles a grey tank and short jean shorts smoking a cigarette – very attractive. We’ve had a hard time resisting the urge to pick up smoking - steve assumes that huge muscles are a by-product of tobacco.
Toilets – all of our toilets feel like a video game. The seats heat up, there are separate wall mounted control panels. They “prepare” when you sit down (we’re not sure what they’re doing, but they make noise and spray water around the bowl). All of the public toilets we’ve been to our so clean! They take their business very seriously here.
People – Everyone is SO helpful. Far more helpful than anywhere else that we’ve been. People often go out of their way to offer assistance if they see us struggling with a map. Train conductors will often make sure we get off at our stop and even look around for us to make sure we ‘re transferring properly, etc... its pretty amazing. Also, the service is so fantastic everywhere. People literally RUN to get things.
Tips – No tipping allowed! Steve loves this. You don’t tip at restaurants, hotels, anywhere. Its insulting to the staff.
Cleanliness – While there are VERY few garbages in public places, everything is super clean. No gum on the street, no litter on the train tracks, nothing. All public amenities (cabs, train stations, trains, buses, etc..) are very clean as well and in great repair. None of our transportation has felt sketchy at all.
Transportation – The train system is AMAZING. We often take trips with multiple transfers and have never waited more than 15 minutes for a train. It seems that they come constantly. The main station in Kyoto has 12 tracks so trains are constantly coming in and out – it makes travelling very convenient!
Food - We have hardly had a bad meal yet. Prices are reasonable, portions are large, and while we are often served unrecognizable things, they usually taste quite good. One strange thing to note is the plastic food! Outside of nearly every restaurant are numerous dishes depicted by plastic models! Its actually quite helpful to us as foreigners, but its quite strange!
Video of gambling hall - we believe that the ball bearings are used in place of chips.
From our hotel, we headed to our ball game between the host Seibu Lions and visiting Orix Buffalos. The Seibu stadium is a dome. It was an interesting structure though as it was more like a raised roof than a fully enclosed structure. Therefore, fresh, warm air rolled in and you still had the feeling of being outside despite not having to worry about the rain. It was a beautiful warm night and the game was great. We ate typical ball park treats (hot dogs) and Steve ALMOST caught a fly ball. It came right to him but slipped through his hands. He was NOT impressed and is still complaining about his failed attempt. The game finished 7-3 in favour of the home team and there were two home runs and 16 hits. Overall, it was a very exciting game. The atmosphere was similar to Canada due to the english language being used, jumbo tron, etc...etc... but very different due to the setup of the stadium and the crowd on hand! Sides were very strictly separated, and the outfield was a true field vs. seats. People laid on a banked ground to watch the game. In this section, seats were ~$10 and this is where the true fans sat! They had costumes, drums, trumpets, and organized cheer after organized cheer prepared. It felt similar to a soccer game with chants and waiving flags. It was a REALLY great time.
After getting back to Tokyo after 10pm, we headed to Shibuya crossing. Despite the late hour, we saw more people in 5 minutes at this crossing then we have in our lives. It made time square look like a ghost time. Shibuya is quite the place on a friday night. Endless people everywhere, night clubs, a very large train station, lit up video screens that made night feel like day. It was very cool!
