Day Two - Kyoto

The day began with breakfast (of course) at the hotel.

It was a very western-style breakfast (except for the rice porridge).  Full, we headed out for the first stop of the day - the Kiyomizu-dera Temple.  It was about a half hour walk from our hotel.  The sky looked ominous...so we suspected that our umbrellas would be necessary before too long.

Crossing the Kamo River

A small side street up to the temple

We were too early for many of the shops to be open, but there were a few, like this pottery shop, to tempt me.  Pottery is a local craft, and there were many, many nice dishes to covet...

So much pottery..such a small suitcase

Seeing the temple meant climbing many steps.

It was quite busy, a lot of school children were enjoying end-of-school year trips.

The site had a number of temples and shrines.

Unfortunately there was not much about the shrine in English, (http://www.kiyomizudera.or.jp/lang/01.html ) but we did enjoy the buildings, and the view of Kyoto.

We walked around the temple grounds for a couple of hours.  It was beautiful and green, and felt just how I imagined Japan would feel.  It was hot and humid when it wasn't raining, and it's easy to see why things grow so well.

A beautiful dripping hydrangea.

 As we walked to our next destination, a torrential rain shower sent us into a covered parkade....

Our second stop was Sanjusangen-do.  

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/japan/kyoto-sanjusangendo

This hall was first constructed in the 12th century and then re-built in the 13th century after it burned down.  It is considered a national treasure in Japan.  It is also the site of historical archery contests in which contestants had to fire arrows the length of the hall (120m)  for 24 hours without stopping!  

There are 1000+ statues inside  all carved from Japanese cypress and covered with gold leaf. Impressive.... and there was information in English.

We were not allowed to take pictures inside

 The Sanjusangen-do.

After this we went to the market area and took a look at the shops.

Kind of reminded me of Korean markets...

Interesting things we saw today...

Vending machines!

 Double level bicycle racks.

 A giant crab clinging to a building!

Our yummy meals...

 Vegetable soup for lunch...

 Noodles for dinner...

We ate in Honke  Owariya which is a famous noodle place in Kyoto.  It first began serving noodles in 1465!  I had "soba" noodles made from buckwheat flour.  These were cold noodles served with dipping sauce.  And of course I couldn't be without the tempura!  It was really yummy.

It feels like we walked 100km today!  The rain made us a bit soggy, but we persevered.  Tomorrow we get on the train for....