प्रकाशित: 30.03.2018
After the exciting car ride with Bruce and his wife to the station in Misawa, we arrived in Hachinohe after a short ride, from where the Shinkansen to Kyoto departs. While buying tickets to Kyoto, we had the chance to meet the most precise officer of the JR Lines... with what felt like a thousand stamps, he marked the different train tickets for us to make sure that we would really get to Kyoto and not accidentally end up in Kazakhstan 😂.
Arriving in Kyoto, we were able to enjoy our first spring evening of 2018. After another very courteous hotel receptionist, we could check into our room and immediately set out to find something to eat. As a little musical entertainment, we had the experience of witnessing a group of very drunk Japanese people in a typical Japanese restaurant with an English menu. It turns out that in Japan too much alcohol can quickly turn your own jacket into a trap 😂😂😂.
The next morning, after having some Beef Stew, we set out to experience the cherry blossoms. Along the Kamogawa River, we went to Kyotogyoen (Garden and Imperial Palace), where we were able to admire the cherry blossom season in its full splendor. Afterwards, we decided to go to Arashiyama to visit the Monkey Park and the adjacent Bamboo Forest. Unfortunately, we arrived too late for both, so we just went back the next day and made up for it. It turns out that some monkeys use their affinity (funny wordplay 😂😂😂) for peanuts as an excuse to get to human fingers 😱. Along the way, we also saw many young girls in kimonos taking photos in their traditional garments everywhere by the river and under the cherry blossoms. The disproportionately small sandals are probably the counterpart to the too tight décolletages of dirndls 😉.
We had two really nice days in Kyoto and had the opportunity to share the message of Jesus with many people, similar to the weeks before. It was always touching how some individuals received the message from the flyers (God loves you - We are all sinners - Jesus died on the cross for you - How do you deal with it?).