For the sake of my facebook-less bro, here's an update from me!
I visited Miyajima, it's a 3 hours drive from Goo's grandparents' house, which was 11hours away by bus from Tokyo, which was 3 hours away by train from my house :D It's a world heritage site with a Torii, the red japanese portal structure which symbolise architectural and spacial threshold, out in the sea. It serves as an entrance for the gods, and each year there's a special festival where statues of gods will be placed on boats and they will have a lot of fire all over the place. Here I am, overjoyed!
I was a farmer for one morning, harvesting bamboo shoots. After locating the shoots, Goo's grandpa, a farmer, told me to look at the direction of the leaves, which will indicate which direction I should aim my hoe at to cut the shoot. They are really yummy, fresh and best of all, free. Her grandpa owns a 2 hectare orange farm, and a land with 2 rows of houses and a huge garden which provides almost all the vegetables the family needs for daily consumption. Goo's grandparents are really nice and friendly and I enjoyed myself tremedously. I also met her cousins+gf, uncle and aunty.
I also went to Kyoto for a short trip with Goo. Here, we are at a famous "Clear water temple". I embarassed myself when I clapped my hand twice after throwing a coin before making a wish. Japanese only do that in Shrines, not temples. I really dont know how to differential the 2, considering some shrines have fixtures and even statues of gods you will find in temples and vice-versa. :D however I cant help but marvel at the architecturem, as well as details, not to mention the whole atmosphere of it. These secular places combined Zen-like landscaping and calming water features, elaborated stonework carvings etc.
This is call the "Golden Pavilion Shrine", and yes..this structure is made of real gold. It's a world cultural heritage too. I read somewhere that in Kyoto, there are about 17 UNESCO world heritage sites within.
Oh! There are a lot of wild deers and this Mr. Deer was resting sleepily on a lazy morning.
Here, I was at GION, a place in Kyoto famed for the famous Musical and Geisha performance centre in ancient time.
Right..TATA!