Kyoto continues
Matthew McInerney
Righto so after the sketchy bar we had a couple of big days walking where the phone tells me have walked over 22km a day. First day was off to Arashimya bamboo forest area. We wandered the forest and then through some of the parks and gardens above it before heading down to cross the river and climb up the mountain to where the monkey park is. It was a terrific view across Kyoto from there. We then headed off to Nijo-Jo castle for a look at one of the old Shoguns keep. For dinner it was back down to the Pontocho street to find a restaurant. Love this street, Paul told us that they had hidden all the powerlines, the street looks amazing as a result.
Next day was all about temples and shrines we went to Ginkakju, Nansen-ji, Kyomizo-dera and Fushi Inari. I’ll sum it all up by say they all look amazing. The best of the day was the Ginkakaju pavilions gardens then walking along the philosophers path an Kyomizu-dera with its wooden stilted balcony. The path is beautiful and peaceful, I’d imagine during the cherry blossoms season it is more beautiful but probably quite crowded. The old shopping street that leads up to Kyomizu-dera was incredibly crowded but it was a lot of fun. To end the day we found a Yakniku place near home and the boys cooked Fiona and I dinner.
Next morning the rain had set in so we headed back to the market streets around Kyoto and went exploring the streets around Gion. That about wraps up Kyoto for us before we now head to Osaka
