Japan, Day Seven: Kyoto

We left Magome in the morning - Keiko gave us a ride to the bus station - and were in Kyoto before lunch. We couldn't check into the hotel yet, so we dropped our bags and then went to explore. 

We set out toward the Hingashi-Honganji temple first because it was walkable from our hotel, which was next to the main train station. Everyone had told us the entire trip that Kyoto was packed with people but there were only a few places that were truly crowded. This wasn't bad at all.

Here I am in front of the second-largest wooden building in the world. We saw the first-largest only days later so STAY TUNED.

We walked through here but of course, no interior photos. I really loved having to take my shoes off in all these places. It was very hot and humid in Kyoto and barefoot is cooler!

Kyoto has a tall tower you can go up in as well. We didn't go.

After this we decided to walk over to the Nishiki Market, another mile or so away. This was a really interesting walk through all sorts of neighborhoods.

We passed this little temple on a side street, between office buildings and apartments. Completely deserted.

This dog was SO SAD about being left outside. Sad in a little pink dress.

Japan is full of vending machines. Mostly water and tea and cold coffee, but also beer. If you're walking down the street in Japan and you want a drink, you can find one within 5 minutes. We saw a vending machine even on a winding mountain road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

Our first priority in Nishiki Market was ice cream - matcha/vanilla swirl. You can't eat and walk in Japan, of course, so we had to sit in the shop and eat it. They had all sorts of souvenir candies and trinkets and I regret not buying anything.

Everything in Kyoto is matcha-flavored. So many matcha candies.

Walking around in grocery and drugstores in foreign lands is one of my all-time favorite things.

The food part of the Nishiki Market, selling mostly fish and vegetables, was packed. We checked it out briefly but ended up spending more time in the adjacent shopping district. The shopping in Kyoto is fantastic.

It was also fairly crowded, but in Japan I never experienced any annoyance whatsoever at other pedestrians. Everyone moves along in a respectful yet timely fashion, with direction and purpose.

Then we walked some more over to Gion, the historic geisha district. I cannot emphasize enough how hot and humid it was in Kyoto. All this walking was intense. By this point we were sort of philosophically resigned to becoming instantly drenched five minutes after going outside and being sweaty the rest of the day, but it would have been a lot nicer if it were twenty degrees cooler. Note for next time: Don't go to Japan until late October at the earliest.

Gion is quiet during the day. Most of these are high end restaurants where geisha entertain (or whatever it is they do).

There are temples all over Gion, of course. This one is Kennin-ji, which I only know because I examined Google maps just now.

This is Kaizan-do, part of the same complex.

After this we set out to walk back to the hotel and check in. This was another one we ran across on the way. Very quiet, but we were also there after the visiting hours had closed.

This is right in the middle of the city.

Kyoto was an interesting contrast to Tokyo. It was much more familiar in some ways - a little grungier and older, more like a place where regular people live.

Our hotel was next to a big multistory shopping center, with restaurants in the basement. We went over there for dinner. Everyone had plastic food displays.

We found a noodle shop and I got tonkatsu udon. Thumbs up!