After a quick night's rest and a delicious breakfast with Yugo's cousins, Fusae and Rika, we all hopped onto the train to Kyoto to begin an awe-inspiring and sometimes grueling but always fascinating trek through the temples, museum and zoo of the former capital. There seem to be more temples there than you can shake a stick at, and Yugo shook a stick at every one.
Some of the specifics concerning the history of each temple melted from our brains as we walked and baked in the sun, but each was stunning in its own right.
We began the day at the National Museum and its collections of pottery and paintings from early to modern Japan, and a few works from Europe as well. (No swords, but more on that later.)
After the museum, our first stop was Kiyomizudera on top of a hill with a view of Kyoto. There are several buildings involved in each temple, and the main shrine at Kiyomizudera had a place called the "womb": a totally dark path under the temple that you followed by touch and tried not to bump into the Australians in front of you. At the end of the path, you could spin a large rock and make a wish. Unfortunately, the weather stayed hot and humid.
We then traveled back down through the streets of Kyoto to find a place for lunch. If you are wondering about the menu of these meals, lunch was often Zaru-soba, cold soba noodles, which are quite good and healthy in the heat, especially accompanied by a cold beer.
And we commiserated with the goldfish outside one shop, who needed their own ice cubes.
After lunch, we stopped at Yasakajinja, where people come to wish for good fortune in business. Yugo dropped in his coin and rang the bell, so we are all waiting for his great success.
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