How do you like Arashiyama?

It's beautiful, great scenery. Yeah, it's fabulous. The bamboo grove was really cool. Yeah. We were really surprised by how, like, you're so close to the city, but yet you do feel kind of a million miles away from it. It's a nice little escape, and yeah, much prettier...than we expected it to be, even though we knew it would be nice. Yeah, it's fab. Nice and peaceful here, yeah, it's lovely.

Why did you come to Arashiyama?

[We] kind of came for the bamboo grove. Yeah, that was kind of the main reason. [It's] a nice little trip out of the city. I mean, it's only fifteen minutes by train. Yeah, it's great, and it's nice to be able to spend a bit of time in a quiet little village area. It's great, yeah.

Have you been anywhere else in Japan?

We had a brief stop at Hiroshima and...the...Miyaji..? The island off Hiroshima--the temple and the torii gate. Miyajima. Yeah. We're only in Japan for a week, so it was a little bit rushed. But yeah, loved Hiroshima, it was great, but we had back to Tokyo then either today or tomorrow. Yes, a few days there as well.

Would you recommend Kyoto to your friends and family?

Absolutely, yeah. No, they'd love this. It's good, between the bustling city, and then you have all--we did the temples on the hills yesterday, so it was... Yeah, it's a nice bit of history to it as well, which is great.

Are there any similarities between Japan and where you're from?

Yes. Scenery's pretty similar. Ireland's fairly green and you know... And the climate's pretty... This weather is pretty [much] like home. Nice and cold. (laughs) Yeah, but it's nice and fresh. Fresh air. Yeah, no rain, which sounds good.

Are you the first of your friends or family to come to Japan?

Definitely the first from this family, yeah, but would recommend it to them.