Kyoto - Southern Higashiyama

We woke up to more rain... our first stop today was Kiyomizudera and the narrow alleyways in that area that are known to get super crazy with tourists if you don't go first thing in the morning.

Kiyomizudera is best known for its wooden stage that juts out from its main hall, 13 meters above the hillside. The stage in theory provides nice views of the cherry trees below, still largely unbloomed, as well as of the city of Kyoto in the distance (also largely obscured due to the rain.) The main hall and the stage were built without the use of nails.

Kiyomizudera opens at 6 am, and we were probably there by 6:15. Unfortunately, there's almost nothing else open until around 9 so we had some time to kill. We found a breakfast place that was open nearby where Keanan got some breakfast curry and I decided I needed something more western. Thankfully, by the time we were done eating, the rain had let up. We wandered through Maruyama Park, a popular hanami (cherry blossom viewing) spot. There were a few trees blooming, but most still just have buds.

Once 9am rolls around, we queue up for Kodai-ji temple. This temple The highlights for us here are the zen rock garden and the bamboo grove. We ended our visit here with a cup of tea at one of the tea houses, overlooking a garden.Read more