For the first time this trip we've woken up to rain, fingers crossed we lose it.
Our first visit today was to the Buddhist Kiyomizu-Dera Temple and thankfully by the time we arrived the rain had stopped. On the way to the temple we passed a shop selling of all things pickled cucumbers on sticks. Now it might just be me but I don't think I could get excited by a cucumber on a stick, pickled or not.
It always fascinating to see how these temples were constructed so many years ago without nails.
Our second visit was to Nijo-jo Castle which was built in 1603 by the first Tokugawa Shogun. He was so afraid of the enemy that he had it built with squeaky floors, supposedly to resemble nightingales singing. They certainly did make a noise, not sure it resembled nightingales though!
After wandering through the castle, no photos allowed, we walked through the garden, which was beautiful.
This is the view the Shogun would have had from his main room.
The third visit of the day was the bamboo forest, which had quite a magical feel about it. The bamboo grows very tall and pretty well straight. It was lovely walking through the bamboo as it was very cool. Although we started off in rain this morning, the clouds cleared and it's been a really hot, humid day.
The fourth visit was the Ryoanji Temple. The highlight of this was the Zen Garden. This certainly is minimalist gardening as it consists of just 15 rocks and gravel.
The fifth visit was to the Golden Pavilion, a Buddhist hall supposedly containing the remains of Buddha and which is covered in 22ct gold leaf. It was very impressive and set in beautiful surroundings.
The final visit of the day is to Gion, the old area of Kyoto where the Geishas hang out. It was the wrong time of day to see the Geishas but as it is just a ten minute walk from our hotel we'll go back one evening for a wander.
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