We started off the day eating the ryokan’s amazing Japanese style breakfast. We had to pay a little extra for it…and it was definitely worth it. So much delicious food! After breakfast, we decided to explore Kyoto. It was a little chilly because it had snowed a little the night before…but it wasn’t too bad. We took the subway north and walked around the streets there. Everything was well maintained and beautiful. We first stopped at the Daitokuji Temple (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3910.html). It had a beautiful garden area. Next, we visited the Kinkauku-ji Temple (“Golden Temple” http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3908.html and the Kyoto Imperial Park. We also stopped in a grocery store to check out the food and to get some cheap sushi/sashimi. In the afternoon, we went to the Gion area (Geisha or Geiko district http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gion). While walking around Gion, we picked up some sweets (Kyoto is known for its sweets. At 3pm, we went to a tea ceremony demonstration at En Teahouse, where we learned about the traditions associated with tea ceremonies and got to try the tea made at these ceremonies. After the ceremony, we walked more around Gion and visited the Kahitsukan Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art (http://www.kahitsukan.or.jp/frame_e.html) that features works from local artists. We also walked around a market in the area. We found a place with green tea parfait so we decided to stop in and try it. Walking to the subway station from the market, we saw some geishas/geikos. For dinner, we ate at a Japanese-French fusion restaurant. I ordered a dish with spaghetti noodles and a creamy wasabi sauce. After dinner, we checked out the local mall. There were a ton of toy machines (like quarter machines here). Some of them were pretty funny.
Breakfast
Kyoto
Daitokuji Temple
Kinkauku-ji Temple
Bikes in Kyoto
Cheap suishi/sashimi from the grocery store (equivalent to about $4 in the US)
Kyoto Imperial Park
Sweets in Gion
Tea ceremony
Green tea parfait
Red tea with milk
Happy cat the restaurant with the green tea parfait
Picture of geishas in Gion (it was difficult to get pictures because they walked so fast)
Dinner (spaghetti noodles and a creamy wasabi sauce)
Toy machines, there were rows and rows of them
Me in a robe heading to the public bath