Day 14 Out and about in Kyoto

We caught the metro from the castle station, just across from our hotel, to the end of the line, so thought that the change to the Randen Line would be easy. However we managed to walk straight past it, looking for a subway entrance to a metro when in fact it was a tram line!

We found it after a bit of googling and rode to the terminus at Arashiyama. With this service and with the buses you get on via the rear door and pay a set price on exiting at the front.

The station was very colourfully decked out.

Our first visit was to Tenryu-ji Zen Temple which was reached via a quiet road, all the tourists hadn't quite invaded yet

Although we soon found them at the temple

We had to remove our shoes to walk around inside. They are very strict about no shoes on wooden floors

Visiting the toilets before returning to our shoes

each cubicle had slippers and it was similar in the men's

We then wandered around the gardens. Any cherry blossom tree draws a big crowd, of mainly Japanese, getting a selfie.

Then along a bamboo forest walkway

Had a photo taken by a couple from Almondsbury so we had a bit of a chat about Bristol!

Walked on towards the river

then back up the much more crowded main street

to find a taxi to take us to Kinkaku-ji Temple also known as "The Golden Pavillion" in Northwest Kyoto. A specular looking temple set in beautiful gardens.

We then walked a few minutes away from the crowds and had a delicious Japanese beef curry, with a clear seaweed and green chilli soup and some pickles on the side and "fruit" drinks. Caught a bus directly back and had a relaxing Japanese massage in the spa at our hotel. 

We had dinner at a local pizza restaurant, sat at the open kitchen

Later we walked across the road to Nijo-jo Castle for the spring blossom illuminations, akin to our Christmas illuminations.

we also had a decent view of our hotel from here

The walk around the castle grounds kept on turning up more surprise illuminations

a lovely end to another day in Kyoto.