Kyoto

What trip to Japan could not include Kyoto? The historical capital and cultural centre of the country is stacked full of imperial palaces, Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples ,Shoguns, Samurai and Geisha. What's less clear on the packaging is that its a city of 1.5 million, and all the above are scattered around this metropolis , making it a bit overwhelming to find your way around. Added to this every corner shop is a UNESCO world heritage site and is called something-ji.
so we elected to take a bike tour to suss the place out . Inauspiciously, our guide was the unlikely "only Argentinian in town", Alex. However living in Japan for 10 years with a Japanese wife his outside/ inside perspective was fascinating.
We've lucked out and the ephemeral autumn colours are at their peak- we never thought we'd get so excited about gardens! But Japan nails the imperfect perfection or wabi sabi of everything being just right in these amazing spaces.
Day 2 and 3 in Kyoto saw us exploring more shrines and temples, gardens and coffee shops. We hit some of the blue riband sites and with that the crowds!! Whoa! So busy!! We took solace in Japanese food which continued to surprise and stimulate.Baca selengkapnya