So it took five days before those magic pills really kicked in, but the hat now fitted, and the sunnies a nice diversion to adorn, and get out there…
Kyoto is such a lovely city to wander around and find your way easily, it feels an intimate fusion of old and new. Every season of the year must show another beautiful face of Kyoto. We’re here during the fall, but as the tail end of summer is still very present, the indigenous maple has not yet started to turn…
Trust me, I know this because
1. It’s meant to be quite a spectacular time of year.
2. Updates are featured on the news almost nightly.
Pity we didn’t see it this time…
Being the city of temples, and not to be outdone, we took ourselves to not one, but three in one of our days there. Starting with Kinkakuji – The Golden Temple, on this busy, damp, overcast, showery, morning. Making the most of our newly purchased umbrella, and patiently waiting our turn to take that illusive shot of the said temple, without unfamiliar faces sharing the shot…difficulty rating -7.5. This gold leafed temple must be illuminated to higher power proportions on a sunny day, today was pretty bright.
Next stop, Ginkakuji – The Silver temple, which would have to be my favourite of the day. This small temple doesn’t get as much foot traffic as others in the city, which is lucky for us! As soon as we get there, the sun starts to come out, and so does the detail on the most beautiful of zen gardens.
Our last temple for the day Kiyomizu-mera, is at the top of a long hill, lined with shop after shop selling everything from traditional foods, pottery, green tea ice-cream and the equivalent of tacky souvenirs, except as it’s Japan, it’s kawaii. It’s a nice amble up the hill until we get to the top which we share with every child in Kyoto and touring school group from middle America. The volume is deafening. Suffice to stay, in the late afternoon, which coincided with mozi-a-clock, we didn’t stay long!
As we descend the hill and head back into town, for some unknown reason the Kyoto Tower beckons us, so we head up there to watch the sun set, and have A cocktail (not plural at that price!).
WheresRu 