Kinosaki/Kyoto/Nara

I really treated myself to a night at a ryokan (Japanese inn) in the onsen (hot baths) town of Kinosaki. They have 7 of these amazing volcanically heated hot baths where I got to soak with 30 naked Japanese men. The Japanese love these baths and everyone comes to them from middle-aged dad–looking guys to the teenagers who look like they were rejected from a Motley Crue cover band with feathered hair to frat boys on Spring Break. The baths are hotter than any hot tubs that I’m used I used before, basically steaming myself,, and then walking back to the inn through the cold mountain air in nothing but a kimono , there is nothing like it in the world. The worst thing about it is that they make you wear these geta, which are wooden sandals with wooden slats at about 1/3 and 2/3 of the way along the your soles, respectively. There is no good way to walk around in them.

The second morning I felt like a drag queen on a walk of shame. Stepping out into the brisk pre-breakfast air in nothing but a kimono and teetering on my geta with the sun just rising in the sky made me feel a little cheap. The soak made it all worthwhile.

Kyoto is kind of like a Japan amusement park. There are temples everywhere and the Japanese tourists dress up like geishas. It is very surreal. You are literally in a modern city and then turn a corner into medieval Japan. Its fun and touristy, but I have a confession. The temples and their gardens are beautiful, but once inside them, they are less than overwhelming. Especially after seeing Angkor Wat and the ultra-gaudy temples in Taiwan, the minimalist aesthetic left me wanting slightly more.

Some highlights: I went to Monkey Mountain in the national park nearby the town, which is a mountaintop literally infested with monkeys. You ca go into a little house and feed them or just hang out with them. They even built a playground for the monkeys to use. Pretty fun.

Then my number temple/shrine in Kyoto was Fushimi Inari. Not so much for the actual complex, but the temple is surrounded by thousands of red gates set up going up a mountain. It is basically a covered trail with beautiful gates to guide your way. Kind of looks like a really good version of what that Christo guy tried to do in Central Park a few years back. I wonder if this is where he got the idea.

I took a day trip to Nara. Nara is a beautiful old town with a big park devoted its major cultural sights and more aggressive deer. It is also home to Todai-ji Temple which is the biggest wooden building in the world. It is definitely big and, without careful examination, appears to be made out of wood. I tried to see some other temples, but just gave up. I realized that I am just completely over sightseeing.

Biggie - Party & Bullshit (Ratatat remix)