Arashiyama & Fushimi Inari: off the bucket list.

Kyoto was filled with even more hustle and bustle during my second week there, as the Gion Matsuri was fast approaching! Floats began being built on the streets in the weeks leading up to it, and one day we actually got to board one to see what it was like. All of them have different meanings and are very intricate, but sticking to tradition. none of them are actually powered. During the festival parade, the floats are pulled by various men, and when it comes to turning down streets, bamboo is laid on the floor and sprayed with water, before the wheels are slid along.

Sadly for us, by the time the parade came around, a typhoon had also made landfall in Japan. That didn't stop us from going, however I'm pretty sure it really put a dampener (excuse the pun) on the festival as a whole, since not nearly as many people came to watch.

Despite classes being as jam packed as ever, I managed to visit a fair few places that I'd wanted to go! Firstly, we had a day trip organised to Arashiyama, nearing the outskirts of Kyoto. We took the Torokko train one way alongside, then returned on a boat cruise along the Hozugawa river. It was such a relaxing experience, and while we were on the river a food boat even moored up to us that sold dango and fresh squid. Then we finally got to the famous bamboo groves of Arashiyama, and I got to experience something known in Japanese as komorebi. It can only be translated in English as the sunlight that filters through the trees, and to see that through the bamboo groves was pretty beautiful.

That day was super hot, so we decided to go to Fushimi Inari for sunset. It was actually pretty cool when we arrived, because there was a rainbow over the tori gates, then watching the sunset over the mountain was spectacular. The pictures really don't do it justice.

Another place I visited was Kiyomizu-dera, probably another of the most famous places in Kyoto. The views of Kyoto are stunning and when you visit the main hall, you feel in a weird way like you're floating on the mountainside. I went with Misa and Miho, who I was a buddy to when they went on exchange to Keele last year. They were so adorable, as they'd been to Universal Studies in Osaka the day before and bought me some Hello Kitty stuff since they knew I hadn't gone. They even took me to a Hello Kitty restaurant I didn't even know existed, and I have to say it was super adorable. Hello Kitty shaped pasta is my new favourite thing. Later that day I met up with my current buddy Aoi, who took me around the smaller lesser known streets in Gion to get a Kyoto special matcha parfait. 

Finally, we also visited Nijo Castle, which was completely different to all of the other temples and shrines in Kyoto. It was definitely more regal, and considering it was so close to our hotel, I'm surprised it took us so long to finally go there.

That evening, a lot of the exchange kids decided to have a farewell since we left for our homestay the day after. We went to Sakura bar, which served all you can eat izakaya snacks and we all had a ball. I'm really surprised by how well we all get on, and it was nice to finally spend time socially together rather than just in class. It was a little bittersweet to be leaving for our homestay too, since we knew we'd have less freedom and less time to get to know eachother, but let's be honest, the homestay was probably what the exchange was going to be all about!