Kiyomizu-Dera Temple

This Buddhist temple on the hill overlooking Kyoto is an UNESCO World Heritage site. We were greeted with crowds once again, but were still able to enjoy this scenic spot. There was plenty of Sakura still in bloom around the temple complex, although many of the trees are starting to show new green shoots as they shed their blossoms.

After we'd had enough of walking around the temple, we explored the surrounding streets. Although quite pretty and authentic looking, it felt very touristy still, so we found a little coffee shop to escape for a while and recharge.

We then headed across the river for an early dinner of tempura - essentially deep fried everything. Very delicious, but quite rich and oily, you can definitely have too much of it.

Afterwards we went for a little walk around before catching a bus home. The first bus drove past us and stopped at the next station down the road, so we waited there for the next one which didn't stop there... Not quite sure what was going on, but we finally got on a bus home. We have an even greater appreciation of the subway network in Tokyo after our recent bus experiences.Read more