Beauty Within: Kyoto City

I continued visiting various temples, shrines, and important places throughout Kyoto. It is truly incredible that I still hadn’t explored all of Kyoto due to all the historic landmarks that it has to offer, as it was the ancient capital of Japan for about 800 years. As one full semester had passed and with it, half of my stay in Japan, I thought retrospectively and do not regret the fact I decided to live in this wonderful city, as opposed to other locations I could have settled such as Osaka and Tokyo. I believe that Kyoto truly has the perfect blend as it offers the most traditional perspective of Japanese society and culture, while still displaying the nation’s technological advancement as it is a developed city.

In addition, I have always preferred cities like Kyoto due to how close they resemble my life in my home country. Having moved to Miami from Puerto Rico only three years ago, I have been exposed to many different styles of living, as well as cultures, societies, and so forth. However, the greatest difference that I have perceived from living in these two locations is the societies’ living pace in the fact that Miami, after all, is a busy city and I wasn’t accustomed to such lifestyle. In Puerto Rico, I lived in the west coast, which is considered more countryside as it does not constitute the metropolis which lies in the East of the island. As a result, one could say that my lifestyle in the island was more peaceful and far from the hasty routine cities offer. Having to deal with heavy traffic, where a twenty-minute ride could easily turn into a two-hour drive, or having to maneuver through puzzling streets within the city wasn’t something I was fond of or accustomed to.

However, even though Kyoto is a big city, it instilled in me a sense of belonging to which I associate it with my lifestyle in Puerto Rico. As I walk through the streets and see towards the horizon, from whichever direction, I end up seeing mountain and mountain ranges. The fact nature is a predominant feature of the Kyoto landscape helps me associate it with Puerto Rico and my lifestyle in such country. The busy lifestyle is definitely seen in Kyoto, if I were to visit the downtown city, but thankfully I live deeper into the woods, surrounded by multiple temples, shrines and just twenty minutes away from the famous Golden Pavilion, where peacefulness and tranquility proliferates throughout the whole place. As such, I find it a blessing that I can find such similarities in Kyoto with my home town and could continue exploring this beautiful city and what it has to offer.