Albert Schimpf

One thing you should know about Kyoto is that this city is a bike city. But you can't park your bike anywhere, except on designated parking stations for a small amount of money. If you do park your bike just... facebook.com/10000218353180…

We had a very ambitious plan that Saturday. 1. Go to Kifune-Jinja by train in the morning, to see the beautiful scenery because leaves are starting to become red 2. Go back early enough to visit the Eikando... facebook.com/10000218353180…

Toji Flea Market @ Toji Temple Flea Market — at Toji Temple Flea Market facebook.com/asc.sca.1/post…

After the market, we went to the Kamigamo shrine. It is a comparitavely small shrine and I think the theme of this shrine was dogs. The sad fact is that this shrine was damaged by the last big typhoon. Some torii... facebook.com/asc.sca.1/post…

I'm quite spoiled here. Wanna cool your head a bit? Take a walk in the giant emperor's palace which is 1 min away by foot.

Every fourth Sunday there is a big handicraft market near the Kamigamo-jinja (shrine) in Kyoto. People from all over Kyoto come here to sell their handmade things, for a rather cheap price I'd say. The offers... facebook.com/10000218353180…

There are many festivals in Japan. The first one was 'Yokai Street' (monster street), where local shops in Kyoto open up stands in the streets, creating a small line where people can go through. There are many great... facebook.com/asc.sca.1/post…

The main attraction in Nara for me is the Great Buddha. He is built inside one of the seven great temples and is guarded by two equally impressive guardians at the entrace. It is said that they traveled alongside... facebook.com/asc.sca.1/post…

It's nice that you can orient yourself anywhere in Kyoto. On the north, west, and east horizon are mountains, only when looking at the south horizon you don't see any mountains.

There are multiple shintou shrines in Nara. The orange big Torii gate is the entrance. It is customary to bow once before entering and purifying yourself with the water from the spring. There are shrines for... facebook.com/10000218353180…

We went to the Nara Park. The first thing you will probably notice is that there are wild deers waiting to be feed by tourists :) The deer are VERY adamant about getting their deer crackers sold by some stands... facebook.com/10000218353180…

Met a cool german guy yesterday at the place I rented for one night. He came to japan for a bike tour, alone! He also writes an interesting block about his experiences: ulrichtomschi.de

Exploring the campus and trying to get the paperwork done. The big camphor tree is also the symbol of kyoto university. The paperwork required easily rivals german bureaucracy :o Sometimes you can see... facebook.com/10000218353180…

This month Japanese professor Tasuku Honjo (本庶 佑) wins Nobel in medicine, together with U.S. scientist, for work on cancer therapy. #JapanTrivia

Japan passed the 123456789 population mark on 1990. #JapanTrivia

My new workplace for the next six months. The coffee machine is literally behind me. ☺ There are also a lot of bikes on the campus. A lot. @ Kyoto University

Everything's settled and I'm on my way to Kyoto. There is some strange naming scheme going on with the tickets. Do you buy the 'ticket', 'limited express ticket', or 'both'? Bought both, just in case.

Had to book a random apartment for one night because of the flight delay. Very fast response from the owner, under 2 min! Things to do before sleep: get cash and take Haruka train to Kyoto station.

Arrived safely in South Korea. Didn't get much sleep, though. Now to wait and plan my route from KIX to Satsuki dormitory.