A few weeks ago, JTB brought to us a proposal to sponsor a trip in exchange for being included on a travel article (exchanging favors, eh??). When they originally contacted the company they gave me a choice of pretty much anywhere in the country (within reason), but flipping through their catalog it was just a lot of trips to temples and other touristy spots where you can dress up like ninja or samurai and meander about town. I eventually chose two locations, Takayama in Gifu (because I had never been there, a uni friend lives in the center of town and, well, it looks pretty nice, right?) and Kyoto, only because they had new “Winter Special Tours” beginning in December.
I’m not a big fan of Kyoto; it’s an ancient city that may have at one time been beautiful and pretty neat, but now is just crawling with tourists. And, as anyone who’s been in Japan for a reasonable amount of time could tell you, when you see a few temples and shrines, you’ve essentially seen them all. Kyoto does have some more unique sights (like the wicked statues inside Sanjusangendo) but I can’t really say I ever found it worth all that money and time waiting in line to see things like the famous Kinkakuji or Kiyomizu. And what is there to do in Kyoto besides inch around temples and stalk maiko in Gion? Not a whole lot, as I found out when I visited some uni friends here a few years ago. We spent most of the weekend either drinking or playing games at Round One. Thrilling! So needless to say I was absolutely delighted when JTB got back to me with the OK for a two day trip to… Kyoto!! Whee!!
