We were docked at Kobe for two nights which theoretically would give us lots of time in Kyoto. Unfortunately there was a stormy sea the night before and the ship arrived more than an hour late at Kobe which threw our tour plans out of whack. Our booked private tour that was supposed to start at 8am and hopefully missed the rush hour traffic into Kyoto didn't start till close to 10am by which time the roads were packed and it was a long two hour drive into Kyoto. It was our only day in Kyoto because it coincided with the Easter weekend over peak cherry blossom season and all the guides were booked. Lesson learned - try not to go to Japan during cherry blossom season. True, you may get to see the blossoms but it was crowded everywhere and really detracted from the whole experience if cherry blossoms are not the only reason why you are in Japan.
Our first stop was the bamboo forest. The streets leading to the forest were all jam packed, as was the hike into the forest. The bamboo forest was spectacular, as long as you look up and not around you!
Our guide took us down a rocky slope to hike down to the river in order to avoid the crowds. It was very peaceful and lovely along the river. We even encountered a great white egret and a few other shore birds, including what looked like a red-headed duck.
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| Cherry blossoms out by the river |
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| Egret in breeding plumage foraging on the river |
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River cruise boats
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| This is what the streets leading to the bamboo forest looked like |
Our second stop is the famous Golden Pavilion Temple (Kinkakuji), a Zen temple. It was originally the home of a shogun but he wanted it to become a Zen temple after his death. The top two floors were completely covered by gold leaf. It was especially golden when caught by the sun.
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| From the back, the gold leaf is not so obvious because there was no sun on it |
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This is the hojo, the living quarters of the former head priest beside the pavilion - it has a zen garden on the side |
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| Kyoto Tower |
Our next stop is the Fushimi Inari shrine - the highlight is of course the thousands of red Tori gates. It was a challenge to get the right frame with a crowd in front but our guide told us to take it on the return trail and it was a good tip.
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| Fushimi Inari shrine |
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| Cleansing fountain |
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| The dog is the usually the guardians at Shinto shrines but at Fushimi Inari, they are replaced by foxes |
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| This is the way up |
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| This was taken on the way down |
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| The exit gate |
Our last stop was a visit to the Gion district, Kyoto's famous geisha district. We were not able to encounter a geisha on her way to work but lots of tourists.
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Interesting restaurant entrances |
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Night view of Kobe port |
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