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Showing posts from March, 2023

Spring in Japan - Day 4 (Arashiyama)

We spent the full day here at Arashiyama. It took half an hour trip from Kyoto Station to Sage Arashiyama station by local train. We had bento breakfast in the hotel before taking the train to Arashiyama station. After that we took scenic romantic train for 25 minutes crossing the mountain of Arashiyama and seeing the magnificent view. Unfortunately the boat ride was cancelled and we didn't know about it, so we walked from the last train station to boat ride port for about 45 mins. Then, we took a train back to Sage Arashiyama and strolling around the bridge area while having lunch on the go, trying different street food. In the afternoon, we did canoeing in the lake of Arashiyama while munching the grilled squid, perfect for cold weather. Last activity was riding a ricksaw to bamboo forest and the driver was very friendly and knowledgeable. He knows how to entertain the client, take nice picture and polite. It's really a memorable experience at Arashiyama. We return back to ho

Spring in Japan - Day 3 (Live like local at Kyoto)

The theme for today is live like a local for a day. We moved the city from Osaka to Kyoto and reaching Kyoto around 9.45am. The first activity was Tea Ceremony Experience and Wearing Kimono. It took around 60 minutes including kimono preparation. We learnt "Zen" mindful drinking as well. There are 4 elements in the ceremony 1. Harmony  Harmony between host and guests, among the guests and between the host and the things/nature 2. Respect There are 3 bows in Japan with different meaning and respect. The full bow is between host and guest, middle bow is among the guest and small bow is between the host and the nature/things 3. Purifying Before drinking tea we must purify all the tools including our mind 4. Tranquility We need to practice mindfulness while drinking tea, we started with sweet things and followed by bitter matcha to enhance the flavour and taste After that we went strolling around Gion area. Taking lots of picture and eating bento for lunch. Then, continue with ea