Spring is here in Japan! Today was quite warm in Kyoto. We walked south but we made a wrong turn and had to clamber through a building site. Back on track we crossed a train track and then a river, eventually reaching the mountains. The first temple was Tofukuji at the base of the hill. It was reasonably quiet and very picturesque. We walked on to Fushimi Inari Taisha. It was packed with people as it was Sunday. From here a trail leads up to a series of small mountain shrines. We walked part of the way up but decided the volume of people detracted from the experience. We walked back down and decided to catch the train to the north of Kyoto. A friendly lady pointed us in the right direction and in about half an hour we arrived at our stop.
A 2km walk took us through a student area and brought us out at Ginkakuji. Next to Honenen in, both lovely temples. We then followed the Philosopher's path to more temples before taking the road to the Kyoto Palace and gardens. Unfortunately by the time we got there the palace was closed, luckily the gardens were still open!
Food was calling and we headed downtown to Nishiki market, a long foodie street but nothing stood out and said, you must eat me. We briefly stopped at the Disney store before heading to the hostel via the supermarket. Tonight we stayed in the hostel chatting and preparing for our early train ride tomorrow.
Today we saw so many beautiful cherry blossoms, Spring is certainly here!
