Kyoto with Johnnie Hillwalker

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Today Darren stepped out on a five hour walking tour with Mr Hajime Hirooka, better known as "Johnnie Hillwalker". Johnnie provided heaps of knowledge on Kyoto and how religion fits in Japanese life. He took us to the Higashi-Honganji temple, the home of the largest buddhist sect in Japan. The temple is the largest wooden building in the world but unfortunately was scaffolded over due to renovations. But the smaller hall was also very impressive. Johnny then took us through many lanes, to visit small shinto shrines and many craftware districts including fan manufacture and ceramics. We sampled some yummy vegetarian sushi and so-so japanese cakes. Spotted the birthplace of Nintendo and an older geisha district. The day ended up with a visit to the Kiyomizu temple, where there were thousands visiting on the day. An interesting walk up to the temple through a maze of shops. Darren then joined Rod and Inge for a very delicious dinner of tempura, pancake and other goodies followed by our last walk in the gion district.

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