We had a later breakfast this morning, which worked out fine because last night's sushi dinner was so filling that I don't think I could have eaten earlier! Once we finished breakfast and organized ourselves, we hopped on a bus to head to the Kiyomizu temple area. Yeah, another temple, but one of my favorite parts of the visit last time was the shops all along the uphill street that lead to the temple. Since we were due for some shopping, that was our aim.
But first, getting cash. Credit cards are not so popular here and even many ATM machines don't accept international cards, so we needed to hit the 7-11 before adventuring. I'm SO GLAD we did, because on my favorite street (documented from two days ago), we ran across several maiko (young geisha) preparing for photo shoots. More gorgeous kimono, and more gorgeous decorated women in a lovely setting.
The setting. Two geisha and their handler and lots of photographers:
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| From Kyoto Day 3 - Oct 5, 2011 |
I ended up with better back shots than front:
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| From Kyoto Day 3 - Oct 5, 2011 |
And another geisha walked right by us and smiled, but I didn't want to hold up a big camera in her face, so I only got her walking away:
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| From Kyoto Day 3 - Oct 5, 2011 |
On our way back, while they were waiting for photos, I was able to get this shot. Lovely.
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| From Kyoto Day 3 - Oct 5, 2011 |
In a less glamorous shot, here I am off to find an ATM. Mom got this while we were wandering down the street next to my favorite street.
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| From Kyoto Day 3 - Oct 5, 2011 |
And then we were on the bus to Kiyomizu. It started to drizzle on our way up the hill, and then our view was often like this:
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| From Kyoto Day 3 - Oct 5, 2011 |
And this:
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| From Kyoto Day 3 - Oct 5, 2011 |
But we made it up to the temple and mostly kept our spirits up during the rain. Here's mom taking a quick shot:
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| From Kyoto Day 3 - Oct 5, 2011 |
It would be a toss-up whether the rain or the seven million school field trips were more of a pain. Here's the balcony of the temple filled with students:
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| From Kyoto Day 3 - Oct 5, 2011 |
So, truth be told, I think my photos from the last time I came to Kiyomizu are better (blog post from that day). But we made it!
In this pic I have my huge Canon camera zipped in under my rain jacket. No, I didn't suddenly gain a gigantic beer gut. :)
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| From Kyoto Day 3 - Oct 5, 2011 |
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| From Kyoto Day 3 - Oct 5, 2011 |
And more importantly, though I wasn't taking photos, we did a lot of great shopping along the way. The little winding street up the hill is so much fun for shopping and we did buy a few things. Most importantly, I found my favorite shop that has lovely fabrics and makes all sorts of cool purses and bags. I have been thinking about that place since I was here two years ago so it was great to find it and buy a few more things.
By that point we were in need of food, so we stopped for a nice little udon lunch. It was good to get off of our feet, even if our jeans were a little wet for floor-sitting. Here's mom in the cute restaurant:
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| From Kyoto Day 3 - Oct 5, 2011 |
Simple but tasty on a wet day:
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| From Kyoto Day 3 - Oct 5, 2011 |
After shopping and lunch, we decided it was time for a nap. We returned to the hotel where I had time to catch up on all the photos and blog posts (yay!) and lay down for a bit. We woke up in time to enjoy the cocktail hour in the lounge downstairs and enjoyed some sparkling wine before heading out into the rain for a bit more shopping and some dinner. We saw some more cute shops on the major drag near our place and ended up at yet another noodle shop for dinner. Nothing fancy, but it hit the spot.
Tomorrow we'll be off to possibly tourist or shop, depending on how we feel, but the real aim of the day is to make our way to Nara in the afternoon. I'm looking forward to seeing the gigantic Buddha!
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