Kim's Travelling Adventures!

Hello!  Yesterday I got on my first Shinkansen (bullet train) and came to Kyoto from Tokyo.  They aren't kidding when they call it a bullet train, those things are FAST!  You can't even really look out the window because its all a big blur.  The train station in Kyoto is massive and actually more confusing than the ones in Tokyo, which is a big strange, and I managed to get lost on the way to my hostel which is only meant to be a 10 minute walk.  When I finally figured out where I was going I found my amazing hostel, it is called K's House and it is probably the nicest hostel I have ever stayed at.  The building I am in was only completed a month or two ago and the facilities are very clean and nice!  I went to Kiyomizu Temple the next day and it was for sure the best experience I have had in Japan so far.  Being in Tokyo kind of feels like you could be anywhere in the world, for the most part it is just a big city, but once you get out into an area like this it is amazing.  There were very big crowds (like everywhere else Ive been so far!) but the scenery was amazing and the Temple itself was beautiful.  There were lots of women dressed in Kimonos, which was very cool to see, and I even saw some Geishas!!  I was told they are hard to find but I think I got lucky because I saw about 10.  Most of them were Meikos (Geishas in training, aged 16-21) but I saw one Geiko and she was beautiful!  She didnt want me to take her photo but was still very nice to me.  Overall, the day was so memorable and I got back to the hostel and nearly passed out I was so tired!  I played a mean game of Uno with my Taiwanese roommates that night (they were hilarious) and then the next day got up early to go to Nara.  This is about an hour away by train and is home to many more temples and shrines.  The highlight was Todai-Ji Temple, which is the worlds largest wooden building, and the big Buddah that was inside.  The area I was in was called Nara Park, and there were thousands of tame deer running around all over the place, including inside stores and across the street!  They would come right up to you looking for food, very cute!  I am very, very tired now and I really havent had a good night sleep since I got here.  I seem to be put with people that go to bed very late and wake up very early!  I am going to head out for some dinner now, maybe some noodles.  The food has actually been really great here, you just dont really know what you are ordering for the most part.  Many places have english menus, which is very helpful, otherwise they have photos of each dish so you just point to what you want. I must confess that I have had McDonalds twice since Ive been here, but that is just because I am sick of rice already!  Alright Im going now, talk to you all again soon!!!