Within one country, you forget how different one city such as Tokyo can be from another such as Kyoto. The recent visit my body took to Kyoto showed my mind some interesting stuff. This stuff started with intonation, the way women speak in Kyoto is different from Tokyo. The style really popped, a more relaxed atmosphere in the shops,the clothes prices did no relaxing at all. One thing that did rise to the top of my list of concerns, the lack of melon pop. Melon soda as it’s formally known. Especially the new pink melon pop was nowhere to be found. The taste is absolutely unique, it’s hard to find it just may be the best beverage you may never have.
Kyoto is a walkable city, plans to visit Japan? Not much cash floating around the couch cushions? Does this sound like an infomercial? Have no fear, there are not many couches in Japan and for the couches you do find it would be rude to take the change. Anyway, when you do finally get here (to Japan I mean). You’ll need to come to Kyoto, it should be your highest priority. Tokyo? Sure, but it’s expensive, now Tokyo is amazing and it will be everything you could possibly want from the biggest city in the World. But people are busy there. Everyone in Tokyo has a job to do. There’s a good reason for everything that is happening in Tokyo, often tourists aren’t included in the secret sauce that will make Tokyo really cool, for that you might need to understand a little Japanese.
Tokyo was destroyed during WW2 by firebombs. Naturally Japan rebuilt Tokyo quickly but rebuilding something causes it to lose a little of that magic it had before, especially if that something is very old. Kyoto was largely spared during the second world war and it still has this little piece of magic left in much of its culture. Kyoto is the most populated city in Japan if you’re definition of population includes temples and shrines. Many of these cultural artifacts are older than entire countries, certainly older than my own Canada. Contrary to many of Japan’s biggest cities, Kyoto is not a port town. Kyoto is nestled within the mountains with the nations biggest lake sitting close on its East. Kyoto was a capital city once upon a time during an age where the mongols were convinced Japan would be theirs one day. They were mistaken. The terrain across all of Japan has made it difficult for any enemy to gain much ground here. This defensibility has led to a relatively unadulterated Japanese sense of self. Until WW2 few countries save China were ever strong enough to have a tangible impact on the Japanese. After WW2 Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Tokyo were devastated. Kyoto escaped the obliteration that claimed many relics in these other cities. Unlike the melon pop, lets make Kyoto the greatest Japanese city you HAVE visited.