Whirlwind Japan Part 2

On February 17, another Shinkansen ride put us into Kyoto, the city famous for geishas, temples and shrines. For the next 3 days, we went to 12 different temples and shrines, all of them were different and all special for us. It's hard to pick favorites, but some of the highlights included: the hundreds of brilliant orange tori gates at Fushimi Inari; the gorgeous gardens at Heian Shrine; the bride and groom who were posing for photographs at Shimigamo; the creaky floorboards at Nijo Castle which were meant to sound like nightingales and warn the shogun's bodyguards of any potential spies or assasins; the zen rock garden at Ryoangi, the Golden Pavillion and its reflection on Mirror Pond at Kinkakuji; and the plum and cherry blossoms at Kitano Tenmangu.

The rituals at the shrines were especially interesting - upon entering each shrine, we washed our hands and drank a little water from the washing well to purify ourselves. Prayers or wishes were made by making a deep bow, clapping twice, making your wish, and then making one more deep bow before throwing a few coins into the wooden slats of the offering box. Ema prayers are small pieces of wood, colorfully painted with prayers and symbols and left at the temple. Omikuji goodluck slips of paper are ties by the hundreds to trees and railings around the shrine - they predict a bad fortune, but are left at the shrine in case the deity can reduce or change what is predicted.

In the evening we went to Gion and were lucky enough to spot one geisha arriving at a teahouse by taxi. Dressed in a lovely orange flower - patterned kimono, and in full makeup and hair, she was beautiful, but a little bit teetery walking in her tall slippers. During the day we also saw maiko, young geisha apprentices.

We then went to Osaka, where we had planned on spending one night at a "love hotel". Somewhat infamous in Japan, these hotels are meant to provide some privacy for couples wishing to have some fun, away from the often multi-generation family homes where only a paper wall may separate rooms. During the day, they can be rented by the hour (a "rest"), but after 10:00 pm, they may be rented for the night (a "stay"). Discretion is key, so upon entering the lobby, visitors see a large lit up board, with pictures of available rooms and their themes/amenities lit up. When we had decided on our "Black Room", we pushed a button, which darkened the picture, and the lady behind the curtained reception desk took our money, and gave us our key. We made our way upstairs, and couldn't stop laughing when we entered our room. From the strange sparkly gold shower stool to the flickering electric candles, to the red and black walls and floor to the adult entertainment channels (but with the nudity mostly blanked out - this is Japan!), to the condoms on the headboard, this room was definitely meant for love. But, the funniest/craziest thing in the room was the black leather bondage chair, complete with velcro arm bands and chains - oh my!

The next morning we went to Osaka Castle and strolled around the beautiful plum gardens, which seem to have started blooming a bit early this year. We then made our way out to the Miyabyashi family's home, near the airport. Jacqui is a friend of Edwin's since childhood, and she now lives in Osaka with her husband Takeshi and two sons Noah and Tyler. We spent a fun night with them, and she drove us to the airport the next morning for our 10:00 am flight to Beijing on February 21st.

We boarded our flight and waited 2 hours on the tarmac waiting for fog to clear in Beijing. Finally we took off, but after about 1 3/4 hours of flying, somewhere just west of Korea, we were informed that all flights in and out of Beijing were cancelled, and we were returning to Osaka. Upon landing, we didn't really know what was going to happen, but after a bit of "discussion", ANA (All Nippon Airways) did pay for a hotel for us near to the airport. The onboard service had been excellent while we were waiting and during the flight, but we were told different things by different ground staff when we landed. Two people told us that ANA couldn't be held responsible for weather cancellations, and two people told us that ANA would of course pay for our hotel. I think perhaps letting them know we were on our honeymoon helped in the end and we stayed in a very nice hotel where we were able to take our last bath and shower in an onsen. We also were able to visit with Jacqui and Takeshi again, and the next day we flew to Beijing with no problems.

Location: Beijing, China