京都

LOVED it. Loved it, loved it, LOVED it.

Out of all the cities I've been to in Japan, Kyoto is my favourite by a MILE. I can't believe I've been here for nearly 2 years and I've only just made it there.

I was there for 5 days and it was absolutely freezing. If it wasn't for the sakura, I would've thought it was winter. Everyone was wrapped up in scarves, gloves and hats and it even snowed a little bit one day. And there I was with a case full of T-shirts! Obviously I had to go shopping for some warmer clothes! Hehe!

Kyoto is absolutely beautiful. It is so culturally rich and has gorgeous streets, awesome nightlife, and a great shopping area. I was super impressed with the bus system. You could get unlimited travel for 500yen a day and the city is so well connected and the buses were so easy to use - it was awesome! I had more bus rides in 5 days than I've had in years. It was really cool as well because the bus stops had this progress thingy where you could see where the bus was up to 4 stops before you were getting on. So you know exactly when the bus is gonna arrive.

I absolutely exhausted myself sightseeing and going out every night. With the exception of the first night, I averaged about 3.5 hours of sleep a day. My legs and feet were screaming at me to rest but there was so much to see and so little time and a LOT of walking! I was hitting up an average of 5-6 places a day and spent the afternoons wandering around the shops and the little side streets which were absolutely gorgeous.

I had such a blindin time. Seriously. After Shikoku, I just enjoyed the trip SO MUCH and being back in Saga has made me realise how desperately I needed that break. So badly. I loved it so much, I started thinking about whether I'm making the wrong decision moving to Tokyo. Then I got my focus back. I adore Kyoto and I know I could happily live there, but the opportunities I need to kickstart my career are in Tokyo. But I think I will still keep an eye out to see if anything crops up in Kyoto as well. I'm not in any rush to go back to England, so it wouldn't hurt to make a stop there for a while. ut if I did, it would have to be something relevant to what I want to do. That's the condition.

I also got to catch up with a friend that moved there a few months back. Don't even get me started on how great it was to see him. I had such a fantastic time - I knew it was gonna be a great trip. I will definitely be making a stop there again. Definitely.

LOVED it.

Plenty of pics to come.

Bear with me!

xx