Temples and Streets of Kyoto

The chaos and learning curves of Tokyo changed the moment we entered Kyoto. It is a land of temples, and an easiness that we settled into with pleasure. While it also rained more, we enjoyed the subtle hues of overcast skies while shopping, drinking teas and hot chocolates, and strolling along less crowded streets. My favorite memories here included visiting Higashiyama Jisho-ji temple, where the rain was a continuous supply to the green gardens, making the hues wet and plentiful. With Bronte, we stayed by the temple and walked along the bonsai trees and squat shrubs, enjoying the pitter-patter of droplets on the pond. In front of the temple is the Philosopher’s path - a walkway that is popular to view cherry blossoms and visit small temples and shrines. Here we found a shop for Kokeshi dolls, which we were on the prowl for.

I wish we could have stayed longer near the Arashiyama area, where the draw for the bamboo forest pales in comparison to the water walks and nearby monkey forest, but we were clothed wrongly for the wind and cold that came with being on the water. Instead, we walked the bamboo forest, ate delicious udon, and took the bus back to Kyoto. We stumbled a little navagating around Kyoto, taking a train ride 45min out of the way on our way to Fushimi Inari Taisha. While that cut into our daylight time, we enjoyed walking beneath hundreds of traditional gates as the sun set. It was beautiful, and holding our hands, Bronte walked beneath them too.

At Kiyomizu-dera Temple, we experienced great shopping on our way up the hillside to its enterance. It was such a beautiful and large site, that we sat and enjoyed the details of quiet gardens and the bustle of shrines and viewing platforms. Here we also ate Udon, and the waitress would take Bronte from us and go around to other tables, taking orders while Bronte held onto her.

For dinner every night we went to Pomtocho, an alleyway full of restaurants and sweets. The food was excellent, and we were able to find high chairs at multiple places, or we sat on the ground as Bronte tumbled around us. We sautéed wagyu beef at our table, and ordered sushi after sushi, never being fully fulfilled with how good it was.

At night we got to experience the onsen at our hotel. We let the healing waters relax us from a day of strollers, rain, and train schedules. Our last night we checked into our flight with a cold glass of Sake. Upon leaving Kyoto, we hopped on the bullet train once more, and welcomed sights of Mount Fuji as we got closer to the Tokyo airport.