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Well another day in Kyoto and the sun is shining and we have a blue sky.

I wander down to make the most of the Kyoto breakfast and tackle it with more gusto.  There was more structure to my meal this time.  Pork and Fish with my rice, Miso, and a few other vegetable bits.  Fills me up and I’m ready for a couple more tasks.

The hotel have given me some guidance on using the Kyoto buses.  The routes are pretty clear and the starting point is just across the road from me.  I had been told that the 101 or the 205 was going to take me to Kinkaku ji Temple.  The organised bus queues work well, it’s just the volume of the travellers.  There are a huge number of Japanese tourists in town.  Cherry Blossom seeks all the attention and it is supposed to be happening right now (or 2 weeks ago).  I start queuing for the 205 and a bus arrives and quickly fills up.  Then a 101 comes, so I leave the 205 queue and the 101 fills up.  No rush I thought, it’s a nice day for chatting, as long as someone can speak English.  Two girls behind me were doing just that.  A Japanese local and her University friend from France.  Both have excellent English as they studied together in Los Angeles.  We soon struck up the usual, “where are you from and are you travelling alone etc?”  My pitch is becoming well rehearsed.  It was good to have the Japanese girl there who gave the commentaries on the buses coming and going.  Even the bus with no number, which apparently was a 205 put on as an ‘extra’ by the bus company as they saw the queues were a bit too long.

We finally got on and they sat in from of me.  A Turkish couple sat to my left side as I had the normal back seat of the bus bench seat.  We introduced each other and shared stories of what they had seen.  It’s great to get real time Lonely Planet stuff and tips.  They had had similar problems to getting a room as I did, but they had to settle for staying in Osaka and commuting each day.

None of the foreign tourists knew where the buses stopped or how to get the return bus, but most had bought a simple day pass that allowed you to travel on anything inside the Kyoto area.  The general objective was that as Kinkaku ji was a major attraction, when the bus emptied, you get off, so I did.  It worked, again.

The temple in gold, appropriately named the ‘Golden Pavillion’ was another treasure.  With a lot of these temples they don’t have the pomp and ceremonies that I saw in India but amazing to see.  The gardens are well manicured with pure green trees adding context to the cherry blossom and the water.  The Koi Carp glide across the top of the water in the most safest of waters for them.

At the end of the looped pathway, there is a need to cool down and I have my second Green Tea whipped ice cream.  Note for the family back home, I thought “Dave, you’ve changed!”

Coming out of the gate I knew there were other shrines and gardens around but my following crowd had dispersed, so I may try that one another day.  I headed back to bus stop on the other side of the road.  A 204 appeared, the buses are really frequent, and I hopped on.  I assumed that 205 out maybe 204 in.  Wrong, 204 was a circular bus.  At least I wasn’t going to get lost, in an hour I will be back at the same stop.  My tourist maps were out straightaway to do some orienteering.  So I could get to a castle called Nijo-jo.  The map pointed that when we made a left turn, as it was an anti-clockwise service, I just got off and walked through the side streets to it.  I did this but asked the Driver as I was stepping off.  He got me to sit back down again and he would give me the nod.  Amazing he communicated all this to me when he didn’t speak a word of English.

He dropped me off, within 1 road of the Castle.  These people want to help you, even if you are an imbecile.

Nijo-jo Castle is a huge walled fort surrounded by a moat and inside there is another fort that is protected by water.  The gardens were in bloom, and yes, it was Cherry Blossom.  They are so proud of the varieties that they give you a separate spotting map.  The fort was a barefoot walk through the halls, but for me the gardens were the thing that set off the place.  I hope I have captured the right angles for the pictures to do them justice.

Time was already getting on towards late afternoon, so I headed back to the Sushi Bar that has been fuelling me.  I was welcomed at the door and the girl waited for me to order the large beer which I had done on the last 2 occasions.

I looked at the menu and saw that I was quickly going through the main ones.  Today there was Argentina Shrimp, which was probably caught off the Falklands coast, Salmon Roe, a couple of peculiar fish ones that I had to qualify, as it had a weird colour and I had the meat of I think it was Sea Urchin, which was as soft as smooth pate.  As they had greet me, the chefs and the staff shouted out as I left.  I had seen them do this for some of the locals, which left me feeling honoured.

Back to the hotel and decisions to be made. Do I or don’t I go to Tokyo? and have about a day to race around.  Whatever Hotel I chose I would have to be at an Airport Hotel for an early start on Tuesday morning.  I was thinking, I am enjoying Kyoto and there is one particular thing that I haven’t done here yet and that is to stay in a Ryokan, which is a guesthouse with more personal attention.  Hmm…Let’s have a look on the web at accommodation.  It has been difficult so far, but let me try.  And I am in luck!  A quick read up and a basic Ryokan is available in the Gion District.  Go for it, decision made.  If I regret not doing Tokyo, I could always double back maybe ??

In the evening I went to the Gion district in search of Geisha sightings.  Just one tonight, but in a busy walkway, but it was a traditional, painted face lady.  Very elegant and perfectly dressed.

I was also looking for somewhere suitable for dinner.  Having missed out on my first night, I found a restaurant that served local dishes.  As I was 15 minutes away from the last orders, I had to make a decision on a combination that looked tasty.   One picture showed a tray of about 11-12 small dishes that were brightly coloured.  I ate all of it, but have to say that I only knew what 4 items were on my tray.  I knew what Miso soup was, Tempura battered prawns, Tuna and rice.  I’ll describe a few and if any well travelled person knows, send me a reply.

A large egg cup of a plain jelly which looked like egg custard, but didnt taste like it.

A retangular block of Sweet jelly a bit like Turkish Delight

3 Lollipops of mixed brown, cream and green jelly, each with a sweet or sour topping

Well it went down, but I think an interpreter would have been useful.  The waiter apologised that he couldn’t tell me what they were in English.  Another first.  The world ain’t slowin’ down.