Day 11 Day out in Kyoto

It was a sunny but chilly morning, we took a taxi to our first stop of the day. The buses and metro are not as efficient here as in Tokyo.

Most of the taxis seem to have very fancy interiors. The driver wore white gloves too.

He took us to Kiyomizu-dera Temple where we were met by the usual crowds, even though it was 9.20 a.m there were around 30 coaches already in the coach park.

There is definitely more cherry blossom out now

It didn't take too much effort to lose the crowds

Most only have a limited time and stick to the main areas

There were some good views over Kyoto

We walked along a  pretty path to Kiymizu Temple

Walking back down we got some great views of the temple 

We walked down through the well preserved (but very busy) areas of Kiyomizu-dera and Sannen-dera, stopping in a lovely little cafe for a drink and Japanese cakes

Walked on down through the crowds past lots of shops

Some interesting looking ice creams

Then down another beautiful but overly crowded street

to  Maruyama-Koen park, spotting another wedding as we arrived

and the most fabulous weeping cherry blossom tree in full bloom

 on to Chion-in Temple with its imposing gate and steep steps up to the temple

Then we hopped into another taxi to Nishiki shopping centre and market, full of interesting and a few bizarre foods

We had lunch in a restaurant nearby

with an open kitchen

After a couple of hours back at the hotel we went on a guided walk of the Gion District, the traditional heart of Kyoto where myko and geikos can often be seen. 

Our guide then lead us through the back streets and past various temples and shrines

purposefully taking us past some the cherry blossom trees that are just started to flower

and back to Sannen-dera and Nien-dera, which look very different after dark

We finished up at the Maruyama-Keon Park, with the wonderful weeping cherry lit up for the evening. 

Attracting the tourist and locals alike creating a fair ground atmosphere with all the street food and other vendors.

A taxi ride back to the hotel and a Mexican dinner of tacos with chicken rounded off a busy day nicely