Kyoto

Here is the final Japan post.

The third city we visited was Kyoto, a city I've wanted to go to since I was like ten. So, dreams come true I guess.

We got in at about noon after our train ride from Nara and headed to our hostel to drop off our gear and game plan. From our hostel we walked over in the lovely sunny weather to Kiyomizu Temple.

The walk there was full of lovely old architecture.

And the temple itself was lovely!

Kiyomizu means "pure water" I guess, so we drank from this spring whose waters somehow grant your wishes. I'm not sure that mine has come true yet, though. Time will tell if its magical powers are real.

I think this is the only picture Josh and I managed to have taken of us the whole trip.

I like this.

And these.

I love markets!!!

And soybeans!

And dead fish!

It seems that Kyoto is about as into pickling things as Korea!

Look: sushi popsicles!

And so many other things I had no idea what were!

Philosopher's Path.
So much sake.

Pontocho Alley.

We stopped and ate at this soba restaurant on Pontocho Alley.

The soba was good and was kind of a process to eat, which I always enjoy.

Gion, the Geisha district, at night. This is like two seconds before I saw two real geisha (maiko really) but was too afraid to take a picture because I didn't want to be rude.

A teahouse in Gion. These are where geisha entertain.

Kinkaku-ji Temple: The Temple of the Golden Pavilion. This is one of Kyoto's most famous sights and I will admit that it was pretty cool. Rumor has it that's all real gold.

Close-up.
Ryōan-ji is another temple famous for its giant zen garden. This was my favorite thing we visited in Kyoto. It was beautiful and very relaxing.

The gardens on the other side of the temple were also beautiful. I think lush is the right word here.

Lotus blossoms are seriously so cool.

I'm not sure who this guy was, but I like his eyebrows.

The bamboo forest was also one of the highlights of the trip. Who knew bamboo got this big?

After the bamboo we walked into some temple/shrine whose name I don't remember and there were huge colorful paper chains of origami cranes!

It was beautiful there.

This was the only sushi I had the whole trip and it was from a roadside sushi vendor. I wanted conveyor belt sushi so bad, but I suppose that will have to wait until my next Japan trip. ㅠㅠ

Fushimi Inari Taisha: This was a really cool shrine we saw late in the afternoon on our final day.

The shrine is apparently dedicated to Inari, the Japanese fox goddess.

The coolest part of this shrine, though, was the thousands of torii gates lining the hiking path. It was super pretty and shaded from the sun....but also full of the most vicious mosquitoes I have ever encountered.

More of the wish tablet things, here in the shape of a fox for Inari. So cute.

On our final night in Kyoto, Josh and I met up with Marina, who was also spending her break travelling around Japan, and went to a very cute little dingy vegetarian restaurant next to Josh's and my hostel. All of the food was delicious and there were so many different things to try! Something about the atmosphere also reminded me of Minneapolis coffeeshops.