On Monday we got a day off. It was something like, "Respect Old People Day." Because of that, a bunch of us took a trip to Arashiyama, home of "Monkey Mountain." To get there, we had to first take a bus and then a train.
Once we got there, the first thing we saw was a bunch of fake maiko. We know they're fake because if they were real, they wouldn't just be walking around in the street. Real geisha/ maiko get around in cabs and have escorts. Regardless, they looked really cool :O
When we got to Monkey Mountain, we were greeted by a bunch of drawings of cute monkeys.. but we weren't fooled..
Despite the name.. Monkey Mountain.. I didn't actually think things through. I had no idea that we'd be hiking up an actual mountain and so I wasn't really prepared for the 30 to 40 minute hike. It was really humid, but once we reached the top, the view was stellar (!)
From the inside of a building, behind protective fencing, we were able to feed the vicious beasts:
They seem really innocent, but if you look them in the eye, THEY'LL ATTACK. I had a brush with death when I went to get up and accidently locked eyes with one of the beasts. I stood there, afraid to move, but the monkey moved on, probably already sensing my wimpy-ness.
Check out my Monkey Mountain video: FUN-TASTIC
On Tuesday we had class again, but during our lunch break a lot of us went to Toji Temple, in the South of Kyoto. They have a monthly flea market. There was a lot of good street food and a lot of crap. I bought a neat shirt for 200 yen (about 2.50 usd).
Martin found a lot of costumes and decided he'd try them all on:
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