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This week we recieved a gorgeous postcard all the way from Japan! nzgirl Zoe fills us in on her wicked holiday, from geishas, stunning gardens, sake bars and gorgeous antique kimonos...
Dear nzgirl, I’m sending you this postcard from… Higashiyama, Kyoto, Japan. 
My first thought when I stepped off the plane was…Everything looks so Japanese! It’s one of those places that is so much what you always imagined it to be like, that it’s almost like a joke. On the train from the airport we noticed that everyone even has one of those clipped bonsai like trees in their backyards! My craziest night was… Unfortunately the craziness was somewhat limited with our hostels 10.30pm curfew! We inevitably had to sprint home each night after forgetting to watch the time. We found some great little sake bars but my favourite nights were exploring the Floating World (the Geisha district) with its ancient dark alleys lit with lanterns and little stone bridges over streams lined with willow trees. If you sit on a bridge for a few minutes you can see Geisha float by on their way to appointments, it’s truly magical. The coolest thing I saw was… Ryoan-ji, an ancient Zen garden with just fifteen rocks laid out in fine, raked white gravel. They say it’s like seeing the universe condensed and it really does feel like that as you sit on the temple veranda in the early morning stillness and your imagination starts to wander, the rocks and the moss around them become islands, even continents and you feel as peaceful and full of awe as I imagine you would looking back from at earth from space. The hottest bargain I found was… Op shop Kimonos! We became totally addicted to scouring the streets for crappy looking op shops which have racks full of gorgeous antique kimonos! My hottest bargain was a stunning silk kimono for NZ$7.50! It’s so different from home because… It’s so futuristic, you can feel like you’re in the Jetsons or Bladerunner (we stayed in a capsule hotel in Tokyo!) but then at the same time there are little old monks, geisha and ancient Zen temples. The mix of old and new is really surreal! I’d come back next time and… Eat more! I must not have eaten enough because I can’t stop dreaming of the food...mmm! And bring a bigger suitcase for more kimono shopping! And take more photos of moss; I don’t think 1800 photos was quite enough! I’d recommend this place to you because… It’s like visiting another world. The people are wonderful, the food is to die for, the shopping is awesome, and the places are so, so beautiful. Zoë x
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