Day Seven - Kyoto, Gion, Temples, Shrines and More Rain

The day started out rather gray and questionable. We weren't sure if the skies were going to clear. In any case, I took my jacket with me, which tuned out to be a good idea.

We started out by heading to the Kyoto Museum. There was supposed to be an artists' flea market. We got there a bit too early. They were suppose to start up around 11:00AM. So to kill some time we went for a walk around the area.


By the intersection of the Teramachi and Sanjo covered arcade was this huge animated crab. Quite the site.


And here is a view of the Kamo River. You can see by the sky what the weather was like. There were passing, frequent showers. Thankfully, my jacket has a hood.

After the walk around the area, we made our way back the Kyoto Museum. By then a number of artists has already set up their wares. We strolled around to see what there was that was interesting. There was a craftsman who made some nice leather handbags. Unfortunately, none on display were for sale. They had to be ordered. I did pick up a set of 5 bowls and a mug. They had a rabbit motif on them. :-) I don't have a picture of them as they are still wrapped up in newspaper. Maybe another time if I remember. After we had our fill, we walked towards the Gion area.

The Gion is best known for being the area where the geishas worked. There are a number of traditional teahouses where the geishas entertained their clients.


We eventually made out way to Yasaka Shrine and Maruyama Park. From there we went north towards Chion-in. If you've seen The Last Samurai, you might recognise the set of stairs here. Unfortunately, Hollywood "modified" the stairs for the movie. So here's a pic (above) of me with the stairs behind to give you an idea of the scale.

Afterwards, we went back to Maruyama and headed south towards another old part of Kyoto. Here there are many narrow streets and stone walkways. Along the way we encountered some maikos taking a stroll.

Now when we came across them, there were already a few people snapping away with their cameras at them. So I asked my buddy whose Japanese is much better than mine, to see if they wouldn't mind a picture. They obliged and above is one of the 2 shots taken. I feel it was more polite to ask these ladies for their picture rather than indiscriminately take shots of them like the papparazzi. I think it would make them feel less like some spectacle.


We eventually made our way to Kiyomizudera Temple. Here's a classic shot of the main structure of this place. In the distance you can see downtown Kyoto. We walked around the grounds of the temple before we decided it was time to head back. We had covered quite a bit of ground.

After taking a break at the hotel, we went to a nearby kaiten sushi bar for dinner. It was pretty good. :-)

And that's the end of our first full day in Kyoto.