Well today was extra special because it was hubby’s birthday!
I had a special day planned in Kyoto for him.
Last time we were in Japan we really messed up because when we went to Kyoto, we didn’t have any idea what we were going to see. We just hopped on a train and got here and really saw nothing.
Everyone raves about how beautiful Kyoto is so I really wanted to make sure we saw something in the small amount of time we had.
I researched self guided walks in Kyoto and came across a site that had 11 points of interest in the Higashiyama area. Click on the link to read more
http://www.gpsmycity.com/tours/higashiyama-area-walking-tour-2454.html
So I’ll just name the site we were at and add a couple of photos I took there.
1) Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art
Just outside this museum there was a market happening.
So many people!!!
And so many really interesting goods and foods on sale.
We couldn’t even get to what we wanted to look at because there were just too many people.
2) Shoren-in
3) Chion-in Temple
4) Gion District
We went here during the day – It comes alive at night!!! Very interesting place though.
5) Yasaka Shrine
6) Kodai-ji Temple
We then walked up hill for quite some time passing glorious shops and women/girls dressed as geisha’s. This was the best part of the walk for me!
7) Kiyomizu-dera Temple
8) Kawai Kanjiro Memorial Gallery
This looked closed so I only took a photo of the front.
9) Kyoto National Museum
Saw this sign in front of the museum… and there really has been a LOT of police about these last few days.
10) Sanjusangen-do
11) Kyoto Tower
And just before we got to the Kyoto Tower, we passed the side of Kyoto we saw last time we were here… and you may understand why our impression was not so good..
After that we explored Kyoto Station which is quite an interesting building. So much to see!! And there is a peaceful garden on top. This is really really high!! High for a building you don’t expect to be high. You can get to the top mostly by escalators and I think if you have a fear of heights it might unnerve you a bit.
And seeing as I write about food, here are pictures of what we ate today!!
First a “sandwich” at Tully’s. It was a bit disappointing. Three slices of bread with a bit of stuff inside. It was nice and fresh though, I think I just wanted more.
For hubby’s birthday dinner we went to Hard Rock Cafe and got some nacho’s to share a couple of burgers and more Sangria!
While this has been our most pricey meal, it was really good!! And the service was pretty amazing too!!
We had been sitting there a little while and one glass of Sangria had already been drunk. I said to hubby “Honey it’s your birthday, you can have whatever you want!”
“Oh now you tell me” he replied, “We’ve already ordered!”
Whoops
On the way back we had to stop at Hommachi station. I was busy trying to work out the ticket machine and trying to work out how much it was going to cost us to get from Osaka to Hommachi. Hubby was still trying to work out what our route was going to be. He came up to me and said “Hommachi”? I said “180 yen”
I thought he’d said “How much?”
And as he normally does make that kind of joke, I really thought he was being clever but he was genuinely just confirming what station we were getting off at…
And to finish off this entry, have a look at the cute little socks I bought here!
I feel adorable with these on!
Tomorrow, we’ll eat local, I promise!
Planes, Plates and Persuasions 