Japan Day 4 Kyoto

So...our fourth day, we spent most of the time visiting shrines, temples and their surrounding area. I must say Japan really knows how to treat tourists. There’s always plenty of food and shopping to be had, toilets are always clean and everything we saw was very well maintained.

Before we caught the bus from the Kyoto station, we decided to grab a quick breakfast. and what could be quicker than Japanese fast food? I had a beef teriyaki burger and He had a chicken mayo burger with soy sauce. An interesting twist to McDonald’s and tastier. I am ashamed to admit I ate ALL the french fries - the saltiness was just comforting.

We sat at little cubicles as there weren't any tables for two at Lotteria. How strange!

On the way to the bus stop, we decided to wander around Kyoto train station to admire (as the guidebooks would say) the architechture wonderment of the building. I personally thought it was depressing and grey. What do you think?

Grey bridge.

Grey, grey, grey!

Despite having been to Kiyomisu Dera at night, we wanted to explore the surrounding area during the day. I forgot to mention that on the way down the night before we shared a brown rice cream puff...yumm! There were plenty of Japanese snacks along the streets towards the temple that we wanted to try.

Walking up the streets, we spotted a lot of girls dressed up in kimonos shuffling (it is quite difficult to walk in such a restrictive costume) towards the temple. I wish I had a kimono! Maybe one day...

And here were some views of the area during the day:

I wasn't sure what to make of all the aprons!

A kind passer by offered to take a photo for us. He accidentally caught some ladies in kimonos behind us. Nice!

A small lake beside the temple...the beautiful leaves gently falling onto the water as the wind blew were just breathtaking to watch.

A cemetery by the temple. Very neat, packed and organised.

Feeling a bit peckish (oh go on, we were just greedy!), we stopped for another bite. Cuttlefish/squid on a stick, with a melting centre of cheese tantalised out tastebuds...

Wish we bought two sticks instead of one!

Snacks we didn't get to try because we were too stuffed.

The temple area was filled with nooks and crannies of restaurants and quaint touristy shops.

After a spot of window shopping and general wandering around, we caught the bus to Ginkakujo Dera. This place was a little different as it has its own zen garden. It would have been extremely claming and peaceful, if it wasn’t for the hordes of tourists flooding the pathways. After awhile, it actually got quite claustrophobic.

My sister has a mini-zen garden in Australia in a tiny wooden box. I used to think she was mad, raking the sand for relaxation. Haha...

...but I guess it's a good idea. So relaxing...

....and tranquil...

...until you have a few hundred tourists trawling through at the same time. Gosh.

After soaking in the peace and tranquillity, we settled down for a late lunch in this quaint little restaurant nearby the temple.

Mr. I'm-So-Hungry contemplating a hot bowl of soba with tempura.

I had the Donburi Gyuu - stir fried beef, raw egg on top a rice. Yumm!

Next we checked out a Shinto temple in Gion. I found it quite fascinating that people came in, drank from a square water well with long wooden spoons and then proceeded to ring huge bells, clap and pray.

Lanterns!

Ringing of bells and clapping to summon spirits.

Wandering around Gion, we headed to “Geisha Alley”. Although it did maintain the look and feel of the old-town Kyoto, I was a little disappointed as the road was heavily pedestrianised and so clean! Plus, we didn’t see any geishas.

According to my Fiancé, there are no wires underground in Japan. Hence all the communication wires are above ground.

Geisha Alley. Modernised.

A quiet alleyway nearby Geisha Valley. I tried to look for someone who remotely resembled a geisha or a maiko (trainee geisha).

Geisha? Hmmm...

I thought Kyoto had the best mix of the old and the new of Japan. There were loads of little temples in the middle of busy city streets which kept things interesting.

This temple was in the middle of two shops on one of the busiest streets of Kyoto. A nice little escape from the hustle and bustle of busy city life.

Uhhh...random useless fact: Christmas at KFC is a really big thing in Japan. You need to actually BOOK in advance!

Finally, we ended Day 4 with a simple dinner at Kyoto station before taking the Shinkansen back to Hiroshima. Super tired out when we arrived close to midnight but at least we got a free upgrade!!!

Udon noodles with the usual goodies.