Kyoto, a beautiful city

---

Kyoto

Well it's holiday time for me here in this lovely country that is Japan......
I headed off to Kyoto for 5 days of exploring the city and surrounding areas including Nara, Arashiyama and Kurama.
The first thing I have to say is that it's sooooo hot there, summer has arrived that is for sure. It is such a different heat from Australia and sight seeing all day long in the sun was not fun. Of course the sights were beautiful and Kyoto has unique temple and Shrines but after 5 days of walking around in the heat and sweating I was well and truely over it and very excited to get home to Shizouka (even if it was just for 1 night before I headed of again).
Over 5 days I saw many temple and Shrines but for this blog I am just going to list my top things that I did.....

Kiyomizudera Temple with the surrounding trees and mountain it had a breathtaking view. The Temple also has 2 love stones, it is said that if you can walk from one to the other with your eyes shut you will have great luck in love. I didn't quiet make it but hey I didn't need a stone to tell me I make bad choices with men and that my love life is a disaster zone.
Gion Geisha spotting area. I saw 4 and I felt a little sad for them, they looked so unhappy and very young. People were shoving camaras in their faces but they were very beautiful and it was exciting to see a traditional Geisha.
Festival on the river after my Geisha spotting I headed to the river and there was a festival on. I love a Japanese festival. In the river there were men throwing long lengths of fabric back and forth I am not sure what this was for but it looked great when all the colorful fabric was floating in the river. There were also funny old Japanese men performing magic tricks, they were very good and kept me entertained for an hour.
Kurama I small town 15 minutes on the train from Kyoto station. I went to see a Buddhist temple but ended up buying beers from the 711 and sitting with my feet in the river. There were alot of people down at the river having BBQ's and playing music. It was much more fun than walking around in the heat looking for another temple.
Arshiyama another town outside of Kyoto. It has a lovely Temple with a stunning garden, Bamboo forest and a Romantic train ride.
Sanjusangendo 1001 Kannon I couldn't take my eyes off all the statues, there were so many and they looked fantastic. There are 1000 smaller statues and in the centre of them is a very large Buddha. Very different from anything I have seen in Japan.
Fushimi Inari Shrine I was extremely excited to see this sight. I love Torii Gates and here I was in Torii heaven. They just went on and on, it was amazing and so fabulous to walk through them as they weaved their way up into the mountian.
Nara I loved Nara, it is a beautiful town, so quiet and peaceful. I saw the Todaiji Temple with the Great image of Buddha, sitting image. He is huge. I hired a bike and rode around the small streets of Nara just exploring. Saw all the deers everywhere and enjoyed Nara Park and other temple at the top end of Nara.

I saw the Kinkauji (the Golden Temple), Ryoanji (most famous Japanese rock garden) and many other Temples and Kyoto sights but the above were what I enjoyed most. Kyoto is a nice city however I found it very similar to other Japanese cities but I loved Nara more as it was small, peaceful and different from the big Japanese cities.

---

Comments

[BlackManx]

im in shizuoka and your not!!!
hey precious.. loved seeing your pics.. great idea, beer in the river!! therell be plenty over the next couple of weeks. hopefully when you read this ill be sitting in the mansion with ya! xxx

[DantheMan]

I particularly enjoyed this entry.

[Tina]

Kyoto is my favourite place. I love all the sights you visited.