From Takayama we went to the Kansai region, more in the south. We stayed in Kyoto, making couchsurfing at the home of a Japanese called Shoji, offering a typical Japanese house just for world travelers. The house was very cool, he was a lovely person and we spent a fun evening with two nice Hungarian girls!

Kyoto is a very traditional city and famous for the geishas. In the old district of Gion around the typical Japanese teahouses it was possible to spot some geisha that are in their way to work. There we saw dance performance of Miyako geishas, who are the young apprentices that paint their whole face in white.

We visited an antique market in a square with many temples, the Nishiki food market where we could taste various local specialties and we also went to Higashiyama, a district full of temples and where we could visit the famous bamboo grove.

One day we did a day trip to Osaka where we were contrasted with the modernity. We enjoyed a sunny day walking in the gardens of the castle and there we saw the greatest cherry blossom show until now. We had no idea that the trees were so beautiful and it’s really impressive. No I understand why when the trees bloom there is the Hanami event, where the locals sit on a blue mat under the trees to admire the spectacle of nature.

Despite the region of the castle Osaka is definitely a very modern city. And she wins a contest regarding lighting. Like Times Square in NY. The street Dotombori Arcade looks like a competition of who makes the most luminous panel, more attractive and more impressive and there you see the super stylish young people and the hostess boys (boys who charge to chat with girls), which appear to be part of a manga drawing.

Japan really impress with its mix of modernity and tradition that is obvious not only in the architecture but also in the people.