I am now in Kyoto and words cannot describe how true to Japanese tradition and scenery it is expected to be. Whilst in Tokyo I was slightly disappointed with the lack of blossoms, scenic rivers with tiny bridges and cute paper guest houses. Kyoto on the other hand is this exact image. It is very japanese cultured and a beautiful little city. I have bumped into many Geisha’s, spotted many picturesque streets full of paper tea houses and have found some real trinkets.
I visted a cute little town called Arashiyama. This town is home to the Tenryuji temple and path of bamboo. It is a real tourist area but the shops that line the streets are very traditional and the creativity inside was a breathe of fresh air. Its hard to find symbolic and beautiful trinkets in tourist hotspots.
Many of the shops had miniture geisha’s, cats and other creatures made with a textured material. They were like soft toys but more sophisticated. Very cute.
Like in Uk, charm bracelets are popular over here. Their charm braclets are more bands that you pin your charms to. Not as expensive as brands such as Pandora but just as personal.
I found one shop that sold jewellery made with glass beads. The beads were decorated with intricate detail and pretty patterns inside, they were quite large in size and heavy. I really wanted to buy the light blue bead that replicated a japanese river with swimming fishes. Part of me wishes I had just bought it but it was priced at ¥1,600 (around £10) which I think is reasonable for such a well crafted jewel but my travel fund needs to see me round the world.
The stones in the rings were also a symbol of elegance with flowers in the middle, something I have never seen before. The rings looked like they were made with glass but could have been resin.
Japan is a mega hot country, and Kyoto seems particularly hot compared to Tokyo. the perfectly posed Japanese woman have the sweaty heat sussed. They carry wet handkerchiefs with them and swiftly hydrate their neck and forehead with it. The handkerchiefs are sold in most souvenir shops but they are very pretty. Most of them have embroidered geisha’s using metallic and gold threads. They are all mostly priced under ¥1000 so they are quite cheap.
Arashiyama was one of my favourite places I visited in Japan and definetely the beat for trinket shopping.
Trinket Edits 