Kyoto Free Day

The tour company left us to our own arrangements today so anything could happen.

Ken gave me notes and I photographed timetables for us to go by suburban train to the bamboo forests but Chippa convinced us the bus was a better option and he was right. The bus went out through suburban Kyoto and you get to see more that way.

It is our warmest day so far in Japan and great for playing tourists. The Bamboo forest and nearby Kimono poles were really busy. Rickshaws are a novelty if you want to take it easy.

Further out of suburbia is a Buddhist temple in the Arashiyama neighborhood. Empress Shōtoku founded this order in the middle of the eighth century. It has been flooded by the Kamo River a few times but in the last 50 years it has been restored as an offshoot of the Enryaku-ji temple. There are 1000 Buddha carvings that gather moss and look great.

For something different we caught a tram back to the hotel. We had time to do some shopping and then we caught up at a boutique brewery for pre-dinner beers. My beer was stout and 10% proof!

Dinner was back to the same place as last night but different meals on the teppanyaki tables.

We move on tomorrow to OsakaLæs mere