Last day in Kyoto

We were up early-ish to meet Elliot’s friend Charlotte’s family at Fushimi Inari Taisha- a gorgeous Shinto shrine of 10,000 Vermillion Torii gates. We hiked the 2.5 miles out and back, stopping at the top shrine for a breather and at the bottom for their goshuin. After we parted ways we had some street food (Udon and beef/chicken skewers were yummy, crab was definitely not real or delicious). Then the kids had a sweet treat and we stopped in a local spot for udon. Thankfully inexpensive, but not a good spot. We headed to our kimono tea ceremony next, which was incredible. We were separated into men’s/women’s areas and then the staff took great care of us. They dressed us in undergarments and then we chose our kimonos and sashes. They did our hair and added flowers if we wanted. After a lot of adjusting and thin straps tied in, and we rejoined the guys. Everyone looked amazing! We had time in the garden and then the ceremony. Our lovely hostess explained the crossover between zen philosophy and the ceremony, and taught us about the room, including the traditional tatama (grass) mats, and included why you don’t sit on the cracks between panels (ninjas under the house could stab you). The ceremony is centered on respect, tranquility and harmony, and that together with the host, the event is essentially once in a lifetime, because the circumstances and the actual tea will never be exactly the same. She taught us how to bow in gratitude while sitting, and we did a meditation, purification of the tools and then ate sweets and made matcha. It was so lovely and serene and the kids tried everything and were absolute angels. It was such a cool experience.

We had the outfits until 6, so we spent an hour walking Gion and taking in the old town. So lovely and so many people do it, but it still feels a bit weird. We decided to finish up our cultural misappropriation and the disaster that was our kids in socks and flip flops (lol) and headed back to change.

Back in our western clothes we walked back nearer to Nishiki market for some shopping. First up was the Nintendo store, which was far better than Tokyo, and had a cool rooftop area. Tige wanted to shop for a new vest/gilet at Canada Goose and then a quick stop at the popular ‘I’m Donut?’ before we headed to dinner. G and E tried sushi for the first time and we had some good tempura in addition to a few plates of sushi. Back home by 9 and 20,000+ steps later and the kids settled in and we tried to stuff everything into suitcases for the last leg of the trip tomorrow- Osaka. We loved Kyoto, but I feel like we barely scratched the surface in 4 days!Read more