Scaredy Cat Travels

Kyoto

Transportation: feet, feet, feet 

Hotel: Dhawa Yura Kyoto 

Plans: At some point I should add in a plan to cry on the schedule. I know I may not seem like much of a crier and I’m not. But it is tradition for the kids to make me cry at some point on every vacation. Last year, it was at Animal Kingdom. I even abandoned my just delivered, beautiful cocktail at my favorite spot in all of Disney World (Nomad Lounge) and went back to the hotel. I also abandoned my kids but that is less important.

The cocktail before it was abandoned. 😦

Somewhere Ryan is looking down upon me shaking his head because many, many years ago from a McDonald’s somewhere in between Orlando and Dallas, after Rowan didn’t put on his shoes to get ready to go into said McDonald’s for lunch despite me repeating the “shoes on” request every five minutes from about 50 miles out and then refused to put on his shoes until I gave up and started to drive away and then Jackson, whose life depended on a steady influx of chicken mcnuggets and who had probably put on their shoes after the very first reminder (now if it hadn’t been McDonalds, Jackson also would have still been shoeless upon arrival), completely lost their shit, I called Ry and said “Next time I say I want to take a trip with the kids, remind me of this moment and tell me not to”. Which he did multiple times later and to which I never listened.

In our defense, a meltdown or two is par for the course on any family vacation. If you think you’re going to travel a long distance and sleep in a strange place and do fun but exhausting things without a fight when the average parent can’t make it through the grocery store without a crying child, you might as well tear up your plane ticket now. They are part of the journey too. Miserable in the moment but a memory later. When we walk through the Disney parks now, we point out happily all the places someone cried or threw up or both. 

Scaredy Cat rating: Three paws – terrified of my own children 

If I don’t end up abandoning the children, there are still so many amazing things to do in Kyoto, it is hard to decide. I think today we will focus on walking around the Gion and Higashiyama districts.

Gion is well-known for its small, traditional streets lined with shops and restaurants but most people come here hoping to catch a glimpse of a geisha or maiko. Contrary to popular belief, geisha are not prostitutes but highly skilled artisans trained in dance, music and conversation who have studied their craft for years. In fact, geisha translates to “art person”. Maiko are geisha in training. Maiko move into communal buildings as teenagers to learn from their elders. The lifestyle is extremely strict. Geisha are not permitted cell phones and aren’t allowed to date. They’re frequently mobbed in the streets by tourists seeking a photograph. Hmmm….Maybe BTS are geisha?

A popular pastime when visiting this part of Kyoto is dressing in a kimono yourself. There are many rental shops that help you put on the complicated robes correctly. I was worried that if we chose to do it, it would be frowned upon by the Japanese but it seems they embrace foreigners who are interested in their culture.

Also nearby is the Kiyomizudera Temple, perhaps the most popular temple for tourists in Kyoto because of its picturesque location in the hills overlooking the city. The temple’s name translates to Pure Water Temple because it sits next to the Otowa Waterfall. Patrons can drink from three separate parts of the waterfall, each one providing a different benefit. One is said to grant longevity, one a blessed love life and the last, success in school. It is considered greedy to drink from all three. Good thing I’m no longer in school.

If we have enough energy at the end of the day and if I can find one that’s not too expensive, I’d like to have dinner in a kaiseki restaurant. Kaiseki is Japan’s haute cuisine, a multi-course meal focusing on the freshest ingredients, simple flavors but elaborate presentation. Some of the courses will push the bounds of our limited palates but I think it would be the perfect way to spend our last evening in Kyoto.

The $$$ – The temple is a whopping $3-4 USD. Renting a kimono runs about $35. But the kaiseki dinners I’ve found range from $100-$150 per person! I’m going to have to keep looking.