Gujo Hachiman - Kyoto (Day 4)

Yet another year had passed. At least for me. It was sales closing yesterday and come Monday, we'll start a new financial year with new team & product structure. It was a tough year but really glad that I managed to meet 100% target and that means I can look forward to another incentive trip next year! Yippeee!!!

Talking about incentive trip, I realised that I had not finished blogging about my incentive trip to Japan in March. March??!!! Haha ..... I know it was impossibly long ago but still I am going to try blogging them because I just love going through those photos again and again. My memory is kinda sketchy now but I'll try my best! ^-^

The last Japan post ended with me staying the night in Gujo Hachiman Hotel

This bear/ mole (really don't know what it is now) is a mascot of Gujo Hachiman

It was an authentic Japanese experience walking through the small town of Gujo Hachiman & seeing their traditional ways of living.

Breathtaking sights

Stopped for a drink

Koi-Nobori

Part of the tour was food treasure hunt. We were given coupons to redeem a variety of food at different places.

Something like our chinese 'Tang Yuan'

The villagers uses this stream to wash their clothes

But interestingly there are many many fishes swimming in here! It seems the villagers uses some kind of biodegradable soap for the clothes so that it doesn't harm the fishes. In fact, they even build little boxes along the entire stream to keep the fishes warm. (You can see the fishes swimming into one in the lower left pic.)

Taking photos at every chance I get

We came to a food model making factory. (You know the ones that looks so real displayed in front of restaurants.) We saw a bunch of little girls learning to make cabbages from wax. It was so life-like!

Here's the area where they make the models

Ooooh ..... such a huge variety of food & all looks totally yummy!

How I wish they were real ~~

Now ..... this IS real!Delicious lunch at a local restaurant

After lunch, we travelled to Kyoto

After spending our 1st few days in villages, Kyoto felt so different. It was bustling with life as compared to the serenity of those traditional villages.

Hotel Granvia Kyoto was so luxurious that I can't bear to leave the next day. Imagine I had the entire room to myself!

Shabu-Shabu for dinner

But I don't eat beef & so it was virtually a vegetable hot pot as the restaurant doesn't carry other kinds of meat. *miserable*

The 4 of us don't take beef so we're always grouped together during meal times - Jesslyn, Nicholas & Allan

We were way too hungry & ordered a shashimi platter with our money

Anna & I went around sight-seeing while the rest went shopping. That's Kyoto Tower, the tallest structure in Kyoto. But the Japanese hated it as they think it spoils the skyline of Kyoto. I personally thought so too. Kyoto has the most beautiful of ancient houses & temples plus they are all low-rise & thus modern Kyoto Tower sticks out like a sore thumb.

Hidden above the Kyoto Station is a resplendent courtyard. I think it's most likely used for weddings.