Jul 10 - of Kyoto and first impressions

This morning, I woke up for a 6:30am temple ceremony , followed by breakfast which just confirmed my dislike for shojin ryori. And then after an attempt at absorbing more of koyasan and absorbing more rain instead , I headed back to Osaka for Kyoto - excited to be headed to the cultural capital of Japan. It was a hot and humid day but nothing could dampen my energy and enthusiasm to discover all that this rich city had to offer. 

Started with the kikakunji, also called the 'gold pavilion' - a golden temple with all it's shine being reflected by the lake which surrounded it on all sides. Beautiful rock garden called riyonji on the far side of the temple. Treated myself to some traditional green tea ice cream to get some relief from the heat. 

And then worked my way to arayashima- a beautiful riverfront neighborhood where blissfully cool

breeze was blowing. Walked through the bamboo covered walk away to more

Shrines and temples where people made fervent wishes on wooden plaques and hung them on the holy altars praying for them to come true - everything from happiness ever after, babies, husbands and world peace. 

In the evening , headed to Gion for a stroll and came upon a huge crowd of people who, it turns out, were waiting for the Gion procession to yakasa shrine. Lovely images of men carrying fire and floats , little dressed up girls and boys, women in their summer yukatas, and the special boy called Chiga who initiated the ceremonies. Had a taste of the sweet as well as savory stuffed rice crepes that evening. Ran into a geisha and her maiko (guard) on the small, narrow streets of old Gion. It was a great insight into how people lived in the old Kyoto era - a walk back in time