Day 9 - Kyoto with Akie

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Geo: 34.9999, 135.755

After breakfast at home (good to be back to cereals and toast!), we waited for our private guide, Akie, to meet us at our merchant house. Akie (Y25000 for the day) told us that our house is a very traditional merchants house, also called an eel house because it is narrow (taxes were paid on street frontages) but quite long (frankly, it would have to be a lot longer for us!!)

Our private guide, Akie (introduced to us by an old school friend), met us at the house and took us to Nijo Castle, the palace of the shogun. (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3918.html). Very ornate, nightingale floors, screens of gold leaf. Saw bonsai tree planted by the shogun.

Then to Golden Pavilion - built 1400s by a shogun as his retirement villa and converted to zen temple after his death. Rebuilt in 1955. Covered in gold leaf. The autumn colors were amazing!!! http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3908.html

From Golden Pavilion, walked down the hill to sushi restaurant. I'd told Akie I wasn't sure about our kids and sushi, as I thought it would be very different to Australia - but this place was incredible. $1 plates (between us we ate over 50 of them!), on a sushi train - the kids loved a variety of them including "hamburger on rice", pork on rice and tempura calamari. Also tried prawns, (cooked) salmon, and cucumber rolls. For every 5 plates, they got to play a type of lottery, for the chance to win a little toy - they were hooked!!!

Then we went to the Silver Pavilion, across the town. Just lovely - the pavilion isn't actually silver, and was much more understated, but the gardens were amazing.

From there, we walked some of the Philosophers Walk, then caught the bus to Gion (the traditional area where Geiko can still (occasionally) be seen, and were very lucky to see 2 maiko (apprentice geiko) in Gion

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