I thought I would open the day with sharing my hotel. Below are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure. The first - a daytime view out of the hotel window. Nice big street - goes for ages (we walked most of it today, but I will get to that later). The next, the lovely bathroom in our room - rather tiny, but it serves it's uses. I have to admit though, after a long day out and about there is nothing better than soaking in a hot bath - so I am rather liking it.
The next, my breakfast. One of the lovely things about the Toyoko chain of hotels is that breakfast is included in the price of you accommodation (along with a number of other things). I know it seems odd to have fried rice and mini sausages for breakfast - but it is Japanese style and it was wonderful. I have long been an addict to fried rice, so no complaints from me.
So after filling our stomachs, we headed to our first stop of the day - Hanazono. Now, the reason I chose to go there is to see the Myoshinji temple complex, which is comprised of over 50 sub-temples along with the main buildings. It was incredibly beautiful and lovely to see all the historical structures that make Kyoto what it is. I won't go on about it too much, but instead, direct you to a few photos below (believe me, this is just a tiny snapshot of what I took).
Afterwards, we stopped for a beverage and I just had to share: the selection of disney drinks available in different flavoured teas. It never ceases to amaze and amuse me the marketing on products in Japan.
We then made our way to Gion. The first goal was to visit the Japanese Coifure Museum, first we were sidetracked by the fabulous shopping available, then lunch, before we realised that we had walked much too far. In the end, the museum was closed, so we weren't able to see any more than the poster on the door. :( So these two sad little pandas decided to cope with our disappointment by getting into some hardcore shopping and viewing the sights of the old Japanese buildings.
We finished off our day with a bit of a walk. We started, by heading to Kawaramachi-dori for a little shopping first (picked up some lovely gloves to keep my pinkies warm) we made the way to wander through the large market like area where we found pink latte:
and many many large shops that were trying to part me and my money (quite successfully, I might add). Along the way we stumbled across a shrine. I still find it startling that they crop up in the most modern of places. I love the juxtaposition of the high-rise buildings surrounding the shrine.
It also provided us with the blessed relief of a sit-down. Park benches are not common in Japan, which can make a full day of walking an absolute nightmare - thankfully, I found the next best thing, a shrine bench.
What followed was the longest walk of my entire life. We started the trek back to our hotel - the map said that it was not far. So with aching feet and full arms, we started. We made it to Karasuma Street and turned right. 3 blocks later, we decided to consult a map, as we FINALLY realised that none of the buildings looked at all familiar. And yes, we had gone the wrong way. So, we turned around and headed back our 3 blocks (that's three very large blocks - much bigger than in Australia) to make our way home. It was after 2 blocks that we decided to consult another information map - this time, we were on the wrong side of the street. 2 blocks later and we had stumbled to the door of our hotel. I could have kissed the floor if I thought that I would be able to get back up again! It had taken us about an hour on foot to get home. I expect to be stiff and sore tomorrow.
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