Day 3 in Kyoto
This is our last day in Kyoto, and we need to catch our train back in the afternoon.
After checking out of the hotel, we stopped at the Kyoto Station to drop off our luggage.
Kyoto Tower, from the Kyoto Station
Since we had only a half day, we rushed to the first stop: To-Ji, East Temple
It’s low tech, but sure it will raise the awareness for the fire safety. almost all historic temples are build with wood, which means need to be very careful with fire…Toji is famous for this 5 story tower. it’s the largest of this kind in Japan.They were doing giving out a sample of some Conbu-Cha (a kind of seaweed tea), with gold flakes. taste was.. well… yeah..
Second Stop: Togetsu-Kyou, Moon Crossing Bridge
This is one of the famous Tour spot for it’s view. However, I don’t have that many pictures of this place…
Togetsu-Kyo. the mountains around there were still green.. Must be very beautiful once they change color to yellow, red, etc…
Instead of enjoying the view much, we went to an Ice Cream Shop!!! A Gelato shop. they won the second place of some kind of international competition for Gelato.
They had something called Tofu Gelato… and had soy source to go with it… weird…
We didn’t order the Tofu one, but instead, we got: Sakura-Mochi flavor. it’s a traditional Japanese sweet snack, which is a sweet red been wrapped in sticky rice case and then salted cheery blossom leaf. it’s one of my favorite snacks
Green Tea. it was another one of the best green tea ice cream i’ve ever had…
Next stop: Tenryu-Ji
they are another world cultural heritage site. they are famous of their garden combining a pond and the mountains in its background. I really wish we were there a little later so that we could see the color changing Japanese Maple… however still a beautiful place.
leaves are still mostly green…Many gardens in old temples are designed so that when you see it thru the window or doors, it almost look like a artistic work.Wish we had more time to walk around, but unfortunately we had a couple more stops before we catch train…
The fourth stop: Chiku-Rin at Ogura-Yama, Bamboo forest
I couldn’t believe that our taxi driver actually drove through this narrow path it’s almost look like a well maintained hiking trail…
we didn’t see any other car besides our taxi… however, it is legally a drivable street.The whole area is protected by low to keep the environment and the looks of this historical area.
The final Stop: Lunch at Kamo-Hiro
It’s like a restaurant for the locals. However, with an appointment, they’ll serve course menu for lunch and dinner.Crab Meat and eggsseaweed dish.. i think..Sashimi. all are so fresh. the shrimp was so sweet!Matsutake on Grill. it is a season for this mushroom. very distinctive aroma. and in japan, it is one of the prestige mushroom to have.Dobin-Mushi. the soup in a tea pot. this one was very good as well!Traditional Japanese dish. vegetables are simmered in broth for long time to get very soft texture and flavor all the way to inside…grilled fish. Simple salt brings the fish flavor very wellthis is another traditional Japanese dish. it’s almost like an egg pudding, it has seasonal vegetable or sometimes fish etc, in it.Tempra.And soup and pickles. The Miso soup has a small freshwater clams in it and have very good nutrient.The course menu does not include this, however, we saw other customers were eating Soba, and just couldn’t help by ordering one!
After lunch, we took shinkansen to go back to my grandmother’s house.
and… well, I wasn’t that hungry or anything….. just my eyes wanted…
Tonkatsu sandwich. it was good, but a bit too greasy… but after 3 days or a lot of traditional foods, greasy meat was like heaven…
Continue to the rest of stay in Japan, and then to China!
Wow, nice pics. All the food pics are making me hungry :/ Looks yummy. 🙂