Kyoto

Rose and I had a fantastic time in Kyoto today. We had a list of 5 places we wanted to visit, but only made two of them, so we're going to head back there again tomorrow. It was more beautiful then I remembered. But, be warned, between now and December 8, several of the temples are doing special lighting ceremonies. They're very inexpensive to attend, and they're beautiful as they light up the temples and the red and gold trees, but the crowds are absolutely unbelieveable. I've never seen so many people in one place as there was on the road to Kiyomizudera this evening. For a half a mile bodies were crammed together as many tried to get up to the shrine and many tried to get down. A policeman yelled at the crowd to move to the left side because a tour group was trying to walk up the right side. The bodies were so packed together that there was no moving to the left or right. So, to my surprise the crowd just started laughing. It wasn't meant to embarass the police officer. There just wasn't any 'left' to move to. Here are a couple pictures from today's beautiful adventure:




Rose in front of the tallest Pagoda in Japan, "Toji" in Kyoto. The Fall colors are perfect right now.


Kiyomizudera was crowded, but spectacular. And all the Japanese trinkets, dolls, fans, etc. you could ever hope for line both sides of the street you have to walk up to get to the temple. If you're looking for any kind of a Japanese gift you will find it here.

From Kiyomizudera you look out over Kyoto and the glowing Kyoto tower. It's indescribable to view the ancient shrines that define Kyoto, and the modern city below in the same view. Beautiful. Spectacular. Breathtaking.

We're going back to Kyoto for more. We just couldn't get enough of it in one day.
Love to all,
Dan