{"id":784,"date":"2023-01-30T15:18:53","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T20:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/23w-japn-025-kyoto\/?page_id=784"},"modified":"2023-01-30T15:19:38","modified_gmt":"2023-01-30T20:19:38","slug":"malinis-adventure","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/23w-japn-025-kyoto\/malinis-adventure\/","title":{"rendered":"Malini’s Adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a difficult decision on how to fill my two free days in Japan but I couldn\u2019t be happier with my decision.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My first free day was jam-packed, starting with the flea market at Toji Temple with Kevin and Zia. I felt super grateful to experience this flea market given that it only opens on the 21st of each month. It was amazing to see how the spiritual grounds were transformed into a lively space of trade.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The market had hundreds of stalls with various items sold. There was mochi, honey, noodles, pottery, ceramics, kimonos, and more. As someone who LOVES to thrift, I absolutely loved this experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I appreciated seeing the bustling side of Kyoto. This made me think a lot about this dichotomy in the Western world of the sacred and secular. That strict divide is not experienced here in Kyoto, and this was made clear at the religious temple turned flea market.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After the flea market, Kevin and I went to the Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto (MoMAK). My favorite part of the exhibit was viewing the various Pop Art works ranging from Andy Warhol, and <\/span>Robert Rauschenberg. I learned about this era of art in an Art History course at Williams, and it was so fun to actually see these mesmerizing works in person. I was also fortunate enough to discuss my opinions with Kevin, an Art History king.<\/span><\/p>\n

I ended my day department shopping with Alison, Kevin, and Alana. Although everything was seemingly hundreds of dollars (after the conversion), I was able to snag a sweater on sale. It\u2019s honestly one of my favorite sweaters in my closet so it was a score.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My second day consisted of more sightseeing with Alana. We started the day by visiting the <\/span>Fushimi Inari Shrine, a must-see in Kyoto. Although our stay was short, given the crowds on this day, it was spectacular to visit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Afterward, Alana and I headed towards Ninenzaka and Kyomizu-dera shrine. This was my absolute favorite shrine, and I could not believe the infrastructure of this shrine that was built so long ago. I couldn\u2019t get over the stunning view that overlooked Kyoto.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I ended my day going a bit out of my comfort zone. As someone who has an irrational fear of eating meals alone (you will never see me alone in Paresky), I decided to eat at a Michelin-star restaurant by myself. As a vegetarian in Kyoto, I had some difficulties navigating the restaurant scene, but fortunately,\u00a0<\/span>Vegan Ramen Uzu Kyoto<\/span> is a vegetarian’s dream.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After waiting almost an hour, I was greeted into a small but modern space. The waiter handed me some essential oils to put on my hands and instructed me that this dining experience is supposed to be one that was meditative and spiritual \u2013 similar to a temple. There is a singular long jet black table, that is slightly reflective. The most striking thing about the place is a massive LED wall that has black ink brush strokes moving on a white background. This restaurant collaborated with <\/span>teamLab’s artwork Reversible Rotation<\/span> to produce this art piece.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, the food was absolutely amazing. It was definitely the most flavorful and spiciest thing I ate all trip. I am definitely still thinking about these dishes since my return to Williams.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, I cannot believe this trip is over. So grateful for the friends I made and the invaluable experience I had in Kyoto.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was a difficult decision on how to fill my two free days in Japan but I couldn\u2019t be happier with my decision.\u00a0 My first free day was jam-packed, starting with the flea market at Toji Temple with Kevin and … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2840,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-784","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/23w-japn-025-kyoto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/23w-japn-025-kyoto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/23w-japn-025-kyoto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/23w-japn-025-kyoto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2840"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/23w-japn-025-kyoto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=784"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/23w-japn-025-kyoto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":786,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/23w-japn-025-kyoto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/784\/revisions\/786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/23w-japn-025-kyoto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}