This (the cherry blossoms) was not the only reason for coming to Japan but almost the entire trip was planned around this, i.e. we wanted to be in Kyoto at the beginning of April to catch the season. We kept our fingers crossed all the way and we were not disappointed! :)
Arriving at Kyoto station, we first headed straight for the tourist information office (where the professional old lady reeled out tourist advise about Kyoto like a book,i.e. where to go, not to take the bus due to traffic jam, walk instead of cycle) to book our accomodation in the region for the next few days. They have a tourist hotel-booking service located on the 7th floor,above the 'normal' information service counter.
The lady there was very helpful and patient and helped us make our decisions about staying in Kyoto, Nara and Hiroshima. After 2hours of trying (a lot of the good hotels were all fully booked by now), we got ourselves sorted at least for the next few nights. At 5.50pm, the lady told us that she wont be able to help us any further as the building shuts at 6pm ??!!. So, we were left to book our own hotel for Hiroshima.
Since we were in Japan, and especially Kyoto - we decided to stay in a Ryokan instead of the standard business hotels and even opted for a Japanese-style room. True to the Japanese hospitality, not only were we greeted with a friendly reception, our (heavy) bags were even brought up (manually up a flight of stairs) by the Japanese guy - as if its to be expected.
Japanese room size are measured in terms of tatami mats. Our room was about 6 tatami-mats size. We even had our own en-suite bathroom (which is not the case for every ryokan!). Pasci-the-"Gaijin" was cynical about sleeping on the floor but was nonetheless charmed by the simple beauty of the room.
Our first Ryokan stay - the Matsubaya Inn in Kyoto. Very cute and cosy and the owners were really friendly.
Our living room / Bedroom (later to be converted)
After freshening up, we headed to Gion (the famous Geisha district) to look for dinner. Kyoto is much bigger than we expected. It has a basic underground train system as well as trains and busses that takes you around the city. A big part of it near the station is very modern with high-rise buildings, but luckily, Gion is kept very traditional and original Japanese with lots of Japanese houses and narrow lanes winding through the area.
First night out- Gion! (to hopefully spot some Geishas)
A whole street of cherry blossoms - really beautiful!
All the streets are lined with restaurants in Gion - althugh they are mainly in Japanese FOR Japanese customers...not many had English or Picture menus. :-/
We were really lucky to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom - this one was over a little stream/river. 
Mishell feeling the 'magic' of the Sakura. :)
There were lots of Japanese restaurants along the river with beautiful views. If you look hard enough in the pictures, you might even spot the Geishas entertaining their customers.
Cherry blossoms lit-up along the street....
A little shrine at the corner of the road...
Cherry blossoms over the river....
Our little living room is now transformed into our bedroom! / Unsere Wohnzimmer ist jetzt transformiert zu unserem Schlafzimmer!
We had one full day in Kyoto on Friday before meeting up with Mishell's old school friend who lives near Osaka later in the evening. So we decided to follow this walking tour suggested by the Lonely Planet which should take us through the 'highlights of Kyoto' and take us about 4 hours to walk. It took us all in all 5.5 hours. Our feet literally felt like falling off by the end of the day.We started off with a typical Kansai region (the region which Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe are in) Noodles, i.e Soba and Udon in a little Noodle shop at the beginning of the walk. We noted that unlike in Switzerland, the ratio of waiter/waitress per customer tends to be higher in Japan...to the extent that they are often standing around not doing very much or pretending to do much.
The Kansai region is famous for its food, especially for its sweets - so we couldnt wait to get started!
Pasci excited about his first Udon :) Check out the different kinds of noodles/soba there are: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soba
Yumm...a steaming bowl of Udon noodles with chicken in a clear Bonito stock ...
Mishell had 'the' Kyoto specialty - Nishin Soba - Soba (Buckwheat) Noodles with a dried/barbecued fish (herring) in a hot dashi broth. The fish is slightly sweet - and soaking it in the soup gives the stock a slightly smoky sweet taste.
Mishell was pretty happy with the noodles- one of the best Soba by far...
With a warm tummy and full stomach, first stop: Kiyumezudera Temple - which is often photographed predominantly in Autumn when the trees on the hill all change to shades of red, yellow and bright colours.We couldn't help but stop to admire the Cherry Blossoms along the way
There are over 600 temples in kyoto - we relied on the 'bible' to guide us through the main ones.... 
The entrance to the temple
It is Japanese tradition to wash your hands before entering a temple - to 'cleanse' your spirit - as a sign of respect to the spirits of the Temple
We enjoyed learning about and following the traditions in Japan.. :)
Scenery from the top of the temple...
The entire temple is made out of wood and sits at the top of the hill - with beautiful views of Kyoto...
Afterwards, we continued down a very busy lane just in front of the Kiyumezu-dera with a lot of touristy-shops...BUT...also a lot of dessert shops which not only give you lots of free samples to try but also a cup of tea to wash it all down. Perfect... :)
There are over 600 temples in kyoto - we relied on the 'bible' to guide us through the main ones.... 
The entrance to the temple
It is Japanese tradition to wash your hands before entering a temple - to 'cleanse' your spirit - as a sign of respect to the spirits of the Temple
We enjoyed learning about and following the traditions in Japan.. :)
Scenery from the top of the temple...
The entire temple is made out of wood and sits at the top of the hill - with beautiful views of Kyoto...
Afterwards, we continued down a very busy lane just in front of the Kiyumezu-dera with a lot of touristy-shops...BUT...also a lot of dessert shops which not only give you lots of free samples to try but also a cup of tea to wash it all down. Perfect... :)Lots of very pretty fans...
and Kimonos of all sizes... :)
The walk then took us down 'Teapot Lane' - a lane full of old 'Edo' buildings which are now converted into Japanese tea-shops and other souvenir shops... Very picturesque and beautiful.
This was obviously 'the main' tourist route in Kyoto - there were people everywhere!
We stopped for a 'tea-break' as recommended by the Lonely Planet - in a little tea shop. It was a well-deserved break after walking continously for about 2.5 hours.
We had 'Matcha' (frothed green tea used in tea ceremonies) with rice cakes and 'Azuki' beans (red beans) and red-bean 'soup' with toasted rice cakes (the white things floating in the little bowl). Japanese dessert is REALLY sweet - but the bitterness of the Matcha really complimented the sweetness and neutralised the palate.
Pasci enjoying a little green tea in the cute shop
As we continued on our walk, we came across some 'Maikos', i.e Geishas in training who were having a photo shoot. In Kyoto, there are lots of women who pay to get dressed up as Maikos - so we were not totally sure if these were real 'Geishas'. 
Pasci-the-hotshot with 3 Maikos.
Along the way were some statues which one can rub for different 'goodness'. These ones were for luck in marriage - so we made sure we rubbed them enough to bless us in our marriage! :)
Make sure you rub them well, Pasci!
We detoured from the main route to walk along a couple of small lanes - doubted one of the most beautiful lanes in Kyoto...
Traditional houses and buildings with beautiful little Japanese gardens were seen along these lanes...
Another temple/Shrine along the walk....
The walk then brought us to the oldest cherry tree in Maruyama Park near the famous Yasaka Jinja shrine - dubbed the 'wise old cherry tree'. There were also about 50 kinds of cherry trees around the park where poeple can sit underneath the trees and enjoy the 'Sakura'.
and Kimonos of all sizes... :)
The walk then took us down 'Teapot Lane' - a lane full of old 'Edo' buildings which are now converted into Japanese tea-shops and other souvenir shops... Very picturesque and beautiful.There were lots of women dressed in kimonos - which really added to the charm of Kyoto.
This was obviously 'the main' tourist route in Kyoto - there were people everywhere!
We stopped for a 'tea-break' as recommended by the Lonely Planet - in a little tea shop. It was a well-deserved break after walking continously for about 2.5 hours.We had 'Matcha' (frothed green tea used in tea ceremonies) with rice cakes and 'Azuki' beans (red beans) and red-bean 'soup' with toasted rice cakes (the white things floating in the little bowl). Japanese dessert is REALLY sweet - but the bitterness of the Matcha really complimented the sweetness and neutralised the palate.
As with all Japanese things, the presentation is just so cute and pretty.
Pasci enjoying a little green tea in the cute shop
As we continued on our walk, we came across some 'Maikos', i.e Geishas in training who were having a photo shoot. In Kyoto, there are lots of women who pay to get dressed up as Maikos - so we were not totally sure if these were real 'Geishas'.Maikos are identified by the 'red bun' in their hair signifying their virginity - as opposed to a fully-fledged Geisha. They tend to also have a lot of 'decorations' in their hair...
Pasci-the-hotshot with 3 Maikos. 
Along the way were some statues which one can rub for different 'goodness'. These ones were for luck in marriage - so we made sure we rubbed them enough to bless us in our marriage! :)
Make sure you rub them well, Pasci!
We detoured from the main route to walk along a couple of small lanes - doubted one of the most beautiful lanes in Kyoto...
Traditional houses and buildings with beautiful little Japanese gardens were seen along these lanes... 
Another temple/Shrine along the walk....
The walk then brought us to the oldest cherry tree in Maruyama Park near the famous Yasaka Jinja shrine - dubbed the 'wise old cherry tree'. There were also about 50 kinds of cherry trees around the park where poeple can sit underneath the trees and enjoy the 'Sakura'. The Park is Kyoto's most popular public park for cherry blossom parties. Its centerpiece is a large weeping cherry tree that gets lit up in the evenings. Many food stands and temporarily constructed restaurants with tables under the trees are available.
The grand weeping-cherry tree...a lot of the blossoms already gone... :(
There are many 'hawker foodstalls' around the park. We were happy to sample some of the delights and stayed away from some other more 'smelly' ones. 
This was a dish with grilled bacon-meat wrapped in omellete and topped with some Yakitori brown sauce, ginger, seaweed and paprika. Yumm...
One can enjoy food and drink under the 'Sakura'..
Another final look at the weeping-cherry tree before we left
'Takoyaki' - Sticky dough balls with pieces of octopus and cabbage inside, and topped with mayonnaise, apparently a specialy of the Kansai region. It was o..k...
Hawker stalls around the park full of cherry blossoms...if only one could smell through pictures. There were different strong smells everywhere 'polluting' our noses!
One stall we dared not really try out - grilled upside-down fish. 
There are many 'hawker foodstalls' around the park. We were happy to sample some of the delights and stayed away from some other more 'smelly' ones. Child labour is clearly not a problem in Japan. ;)
This was a dish with grilled bacon-meat wrapped in omellete and topped with some Yakitori brown sauce, ginger, seaweed and paprika. Yumm...
One can enjoy food and drink under the 'Sakura'..
Another final look at the weeping-cherry tree before we left
'Takoyaki' - Sticky dough balls with pieces of octopus and cabbage inside, and topped with mayonnaise, apparently a specialy of the Kansai region. It was o..k... 
Hawker stalls around the park full of cherry blossoms...if only one could smell through pictures. There were different strong smells everywhere 'polluting' our noses!
One stall we dared not really try out - grilled upside-down fish. Yasaka-Jinja also known as the Gion Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in the Gion District of Kyoto . The popular city shrine is famous for its Gion Matsuri, one of Japan's largest festivals.
Yasaka Shrine was first built in 656 AD. It was dedicated to Susa-no-o, the god of prosperity and good health, and his wife and 8 children. Most of the buildings that remain today are from a reconstruction in 1654.
Today, Yasaka Shrine is an important shrine for Kyoto's inhabitants. Because it's close to the shopping districts, worshippers drop by frequently for a quick prayer to the god of prosperity and health.
Chionin Temple - unfortunately, we got there at 4.30pm which was too late as it closes at 5pm. Luckily, we managed to take a few photos of the front 'gate' before we got chased out by the guard.
Pasci strikes a pose...
Pretty blossoms against the background of the entrance - which is made of pure wood...
Our walk ended at the 'Heian-jingu' - Peace shrine. The Heian Shrine was built relatively recently in 1895 on the occasion of the 1,100th anniversary of the Heian Capital foundation. It is dedicated to the first and last emperors that reigned from Kyoto, Emperor Kammu and Emperor Komei.
The shrine buildings are a partial replica of the Imperial Palace of the Heian Period, but only about two thirds of the original buildings in scale. Several events are held on the shrine's spacious inner court occasionally. 
We could not resist some photography fun with the perfect temple background...
And Mishell could not resist some shots with the Sakura
The beautiful canal lined with cherry-blossoms at sunset....
With the end of our walk, we headed towards Osaka - which should normally take about 30 minutes from Kyoto. It took us about an hour, changing about 3 trains - talking to about 8 different people to make sure we boarded the right train from the right platform (different people we asked seemed to have different versions of "yes" and "no") to finally get to Mishell's friend's place at a suburb between Osaka and Kobé - Nishinomiya. 
Our juicy Sirloin - perfectly seasoned with minimal salt and pepper...grilled to perfection
The wonderful hosts and couple - Wai Cheong & his wife, Soboda
The next certificate for the 'piece de resistance' - the rib-eye.....
Raw cow's liver - a delicacy. We were initially hesitant- being non-fans of Liver but this did not taste of liver at all! It was actually really buttery and milky and tastes like meat. Wow!
Check out the marbling on this piece of meat! It was juicy, buttery, milky and just soo perfectly tender... literally melts in your mouth...MMMMM...
Our waiter was very entertaining. Wai Cheong was clearly a VIP at the restaurant as we got the VIP treatment....
We couldnt wait to savour the taste of this juic piece of meat...
There was lots of love going round in the room!
Now that's what I call a perfect piece of meat!
We even got a surprise from the waiter at the end of dinner - welcoming us to Japan. Aww..so sweet!
What a wonderful dinner and perfect way to end our day! We were over the moon! Our hosts even surprised us by buying us the dinner - thank you once again!!
Little did we know, the dinner was just the beginning of Wai Cheong's 'tour'. He took us to 2 different spots in Osaka for a nightview of the city. Woww...the view was certainly left to be said for! Osaka is huge - the next largest city after Tokyo in Japan. 
Wai Ling and Wai Cheong reunited... (no, they are not cousins or related - as often confused by teachers and students at school)
Nightview of Osaka
View from another spot..
Reunited after school - now married...gosh, we felt a little old for sure!
The next day, unfortunately, Wai Cheong had to fly to Vegas for a business trip (on a Saturday!). Apparently, Japanese do not really have respect for work-life balance and one would need to quite often work on Saturdays as well as Sundays, if need be. 
Looking a little tired after going to bed only at 3am....
Awww...what a cute couple - very loving and still obviously very much in love after 8 years of being together.
Yasaka Shrine was first built in 656 AD. It was dedicated to Susa-no-o, the god of prosperity and good health, and his wife and 8 children. Most of the buildings that remain today are from a reconstruction in 1654.
Today, Yasaka Shrine is an important shrine for Kyoto's inhabitants. Because it's close to the shopping districts, worshippers drop by frequently for a quick prayer to the god of prosperity and health.
Chionin Temple - unfortunately, we got there at 4.30pm which was too late as it closes at 5pm. Luckily, we managed to take a few photos of the front 'gate' before we got chased out by the guard.Pasci strikes a pose... 
Pretty blossoms against the background of the entrance - which is made of pure wood...
Our walk ended at the 'Heian-jingu' - Peace shrine. The Heian Shrine was built relatively recently in 1895 on the occasion of the 1,100th anniversary of the Heian Capital foundation. It is dedicated to the first and last emperors that reigned from Kyoto, Emperor Kammu and Emperor Komei. The shrine buildings are a partial replica of the Imperial Palace of the Heian Period, but only about two thirds of the original buildings in scale. Several events are held on the shrine's spacious inner court occasionally.
This is just the entrance to the shrine - which is another 50m away...
We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a typical Japanese bride & groom..
This is the famous Ozanaki Canal - just outside the Heianjingu entrance. Okazaki Canal connects the Lake Biwa Canal network with Kamo River. It is lined by many cherry trees, and popular boat tours are conducted during the hanami season.
Inside the grounds of Heian-Jingu
Love note?
There is a garden inside the Temple grounds where there is an entrance fee charged during Hanami season. We decided not to pay and took pictures of the display video outside the garden for an idea of what it could look like inside. Cunning, huh... hehe... ;)
The view inside the park - apparently there are lots of weeping cherry trees in there
Sneaky view from outside - the trees were obviously in full bloom..
We could not resist some photography fun with the perfect temple background...
And Mishell could not resist some shots with the Sakura 
The beautiful canal lined with cherry-blossoms at sunset....
With the end of our walk, we headed towards Osaka - which should normally take about 30 minutes from Kyoto. It took us about an hour, changing about 3 trains - talking to about 8 different people to make sure we boarded the right train from the right platform (different people we asked seemed to have different versions of "yes" and "no") to finally get to Mishell's friend's place at a suburb between Osaka and Kobé - Nishinomiya. To make matters worse, we had to stand all the way as we were stuck in rush hour 'traffic' and the trains were packed like cans of sardines...as Japanese people are quite small, one can obviously fit quite a lot in a train. Unfortunately for us, Japanese people do not quite like wearing perfume or deodorant. AND they tend to have a bath in the evenings...only. Eww...
Mishell's friend, Wai Cheong, was really excited to welcome us and he picked us up promptly from the train station. After freshening up, we headed straight for the restaurant. Wai Cheong heard that Mishell really wanted to try some Kobé beef so he booked a restaurant (plus the special cut meat) days in advance of our arrival. WOW!
Needless to say, we were both really excited at the prospects of sampling some good quality meat!
The delicious salad with raw meat/ala tartare and poached egg - which gave the meat and salad a smooth consistency...
We were both excited at the prospects of some Tajima beef, i.e. Japanese wagyu beef.
We soon learned from Wai Cheong that the restaurant is a real 'Tajima beef' restaurant, i.e. it serves proper beef steak. Wai Cheong also reserved a special cut of the beef in advance - which was a good thing as it was all sold-out by the time we got there! We couldnt even have more if we wanted to.
All good beef here come with a certificate for the meat - specifying the cow's birthdate, species, its mother, its grading (the higher the better) and even the 'nose' print. Any grading about 80.0 is considered very high-quality beef.
There are five major breeds of wagyū (wa means "Japanese" and gyū means "cow"): Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Polled, Japanese Shorthorn, and Kumamoto Reds. Japanese breed names include: Tajima, Hida (Gif Pref.), Tottori, Shimane, Kochi and Kumamoto. Kumamoto Prefecture is famous for their red wagyū cattle. The more famous black variety has their origins in Kobe.
We had a Sirloin and 'the' rib-eye - the Sirloin had a rating of 80.5 (out of 100) and the rib-eye (81.6)...this is the real stuff!
The 'certificate' for our meat....
Our juicy Sirloin - perfectly seasoned with minimal salt and pepper...grilled to perfection
The wonderful hosts and couple - Wai Cheong & his wife, Soboda 
The next certificate for the 'piece de resistance' - the rib-eye..... Raw cow's liver - a delicacy. We were initially hesitant- being non-fans of Liver but this did not taste of liver at all! It was actually really buttery and milky and tastes like meat. Wow!
Check out the marbling on this piece of meat! It was juicy, buttery, milky and just soo perfectly tender... literally melts in your mouth...MMMMM...
Our waiter was very entertaining. Wai Cheong was clearly a VIP at the restaurant as we got the VIP treatment....
We couldnt wait to savour the taste of this juic piece of meat...
There was lots of love going round in the room! 
Now that's what I call a perfect piece of meat!
We even got a surprise from the waiter at the end of dinner - welcoming us to Japan. Aww..so sweet! 
What a wonderful dinner and perfect way to end our day! We were over the moon! Our hosts even surprised us by buying us the dinner - thank you once again!! 
Little did we know, the dinner was just the beginning of Wai Cheong's 'tour'. He took us to 2 different spots in Osaka for a nightview of the city. Woww...the view was certainly left to be said for! Osaka is huge - the next largest city after Tokyo in Japan.This spot was also where Wai Cheong proposed to his wife - Soboda. Awww....
Wai Ling and Wai Cheong reunited... (no, they are not cousins or related - as often confused by teachers and students at school)
Nightview of Osaka
View from another spot..
Reunited after school - now married...gosh, we felt a little old for sure!
The next day, unfortunately, Wai Cheong had to fly to Vegas for a business trip (on a Saturday!). Apparently, Japanese do not really have respect for work-life balance and one would need to quite often work on Saturdays as well as Sundays, if need be. So, Wai Cheong took us for some spicy Ramen (he heard that we really liked Ramen) before he caught the bus to the airport.
Yummy Ramen with a different broth to the one we had in Tokyo
Yummy Ramen with a different broth to the one we had in Tokyo
Looking a little tired after going to bed only at 3am....
Awww...what a cute couple - very loving and still obviously very much in love after 8 years of being together.
After a sad goodbye to Wai Cheong at the train station, Soboda - our professional Guide and Photographer took us to Kobé where we spent the day.
***NOTE TO READERS: We may not be able to continue our Blog for a while after this as we are currently moving onto China - and apparently Blogsites are banned in China. So, keep your fingers crossed for us that we'll be able to continue blogging!!
