Japan Chronicles- Part 3

Woo, I'm on a roll with posts! (Dont jinx myself... haha)

*Warning: Picture Heavy!!*

Monday morning we got up early to go to Kyoto! We left about half of our stuff in our hotel room- we had booked the Tokyo hotel for our whole stay so we could leave things there while we were away! It was a good idea- Amy and I left all our lolita hung up safely in the closet.

We took the train to Tokyo Station, where we jumped onto the Shinkansen! It was really cool looking! XD

Here's Mum having a nap. hehe.

And me showing off my new Angelic Pretty watch <3

We were REALLY lucky to see Mount Fuji-san! We spoke to a British man on the train and he said he had been back and fourth between Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka over four times but had never seen Fuji-san. It was a very clear day!

It was only about a 2 hour train ride to Kyoto, and once we arrived we took a taxi to our accommodation! It was a little house right in Gion! It was so beautiful!

Then we wandered around Gion for a while!

 Getting a photo with two girls in kimono!

 OUR FIRST MAIKO SIGHTING! <3

I managed to get a photo with these two Maiko, they were very sweet and shy!

It was funny, after the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, Kyoto made us all relax. We spent the next day just wandering around lazily! haha! It was worth it, though. Although it was raining it wasn't cold!

 Best shop sign ever! haha!

 Out the front of our favourite place to eat- Cafe Violon! Mum made friends with the family who owned it <3

 Mum and I at our house!

 Cute little pond outside a shop!

The next day- Wednesday- it was hot again! Thank goodness- I was really worried it would be raining again, which would mean we would've missed out on our Maiko photo shoot! 

I woke up with cool hair. haha!

We stopped for icecream while we wandered around the temples!

School kids were always asking for our photo! haha!

Finally it was 12o'clock, and it was time for our make over!

We had to strip down into a light cotton under-kimono and then some lovely ladies did our makeup! I got to choose my furisode first because there wasn't any room for me to get my hair done. They took me to a HUGE room full of beautiful kimono! I knew exactly what I wanted...PINK PLEASE! haha! Then they put the half-wig on me, combing my own hair over it and spraying it black. The half-wig was heavy- mainly because with my extensions there was A LOT of hair on the back of my head and it pulled the hair on my forehead hard. :S But it wasn't unbearable!

Then we had a small photo shoot!

And afterwards we could take our own photos! <3

If you're wondering why mum is dressed simpler than Amy and I, it was because she was a Geiko- which means she was a fully-fledged Geisha! Amy and I were Maiko, trainee Geisha, thats why we had the HUGE shoes! haha!

When I got home I had my first traditional bath!

 

The next day (Thursday) it was hot but slightly rainy! We walked to Kyoto station along the river, saw lots of carp and ducks! We took the train to Fushimi Inari!

It was really breathtaking there, the forest was so magical- it had a green haze when you looked through the trees!

 We walked up the mountain for about an hour, then stopped at a little cafe! I had a yummy traditional ginger drink used in Japanese medicine, it was REALLY sweet though! Normally I am like "MOAR SUGAR" but this was almost too sweet! haha!

Waiting for my drink to arrive!

Then we found a little shine off the trail where mum had a little pray- it had been 5 years to the day of her mother, my Grandma, passing away. Fushimi Inari is so spiritual, it touched us all.

But there was a little man at this particular shrine- he was so sweet! He gave Amy and I tea while mum prayed, and even blessed a candle for mum. We got a picture of him because he was so kind!

Hehe, he's doing a peace sign! XD

Then we made our way back down the mountain!

LOL, mum took this photo. We only had to use a squat toilet ONCE, and luckily all of us were busting so there was no awkwardness it was just "GOTA GO!!" haha!

At the bottom of Fushimi Inari we grabbed a bite to eat, sitting traditional style! It was fun- AND YUMMY!

Finally, on Friday we packed up our things and said goodbye to Kyoto!

 We left a thank you gift for the house owner- he was really helpful!

SHINKANSEN!!

Although Kyoto had been really beautiful, I was looking forward to returning to the hive of Tokyo!

Once in Tokyo again, Amy and I dressed up for a night in Shibuya!

We went and got Purikura... alot of Purikura! haha! Then Amy decided to get hair extensions, so I took her to YuHouse! Luckily they were cool with walk-ins, and even more luckily the gentleman who spoke English was working that night! haha! So it was a lot easier than when I got mine done! lol!

 I wore my new Rose Fan Fan dress & jumper.

Amy after getting her hair done! <3

OMG, but I had the most luckiest experience ever while Amy was getting her extensions in!

I decided to go for a wander because I knew it would take at little while, and went to get Purikura on my own. After taking a few shots, I made my way out of the games parlor when suddenly I noticed a really really awesome hairstyle on a girl playing the drum games with her friends. I half stopped to have a better look... and she turned around...

It. Was. Yumachi.

*________*

HOLYMOTHEROFPEARL.
And you know what I did?
...
...
I panicked. HAHA!

I smiled, half waved, and then ran away. >__<;;

I wish I had the guts to say hello and tell her how much of a fan I was! I even had a little koala toy in my bag, I could've given it to her ><;; Still kicking myself to this day!!!

After I told Amy we went back in to the parlor to see if she was still there, but she was gone. Sigh.

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XOXOX

XOXOXOX