Ericka is at Sea: A day in Kyoto

NIJO CASTLE
On the fourth day in Kobe I decided to take a day trip to Kyoto all by myself. Now that its over, I wish I would have done more trips by myself. It was so nice to just do what I wanted and not wait for other people, plus I felt more independent. Everything kind of just worked out. On my way to Kyoto, I was having problems getting my ticket and a guy from Michigan came to my rescue. He’s studying here in Kobe working on his PhD in developmental biology. We had a good conversation on the train and when he left, I realized that we never exchanged names. Kinda sad how we shared a few moments together and we will probably never see each other again. Mystery...........

When I arrived in Kyoto, again I was lost and didn’t know which way to go and a young man from India came to my rescue. He walked me to the Nijo Castle, and here I ran into another sasser, Jeff. He was by himself too so we talked and walked around the castle together. He was using the bus system around the city so he showed me where/how to catch the local bus. He also recommended the Kiyomizu Temple so I decided to go there. The entire temple was made from wood and there was a beautiful garden behind the temple. After this, I then walked to the Gion area which is known for the geishas. I saw a few, but they walked past me so quickly I didn’t get a chance to take their picture.