Second Day in Kyoto

I actually was able to get up bright and early this morning without being too whiney! Haha AND for a weird twisted change we had McDonalds for breakfast? Hmm. After breakfast, we had plans to tour the west side of Kyoto for the morning but we got lost finding our hotel we needed to reach. So lets just say McDonalds + Starbucks + Running = not so good for Lindsay, BUT we made it just in time. Our tour bus guide name was Hi-Koto or “k” as her nickname. Our first stop on the tour was to Nijo Castle. Sadly photography and videos were not allowed BUT the paintings, walls, floors and gardens were beautiful. The paintings, rooms and floors were completed in 1626 and yet still the paintings were still marvelous and such a piece of history to see.

Next stop we visited The Golden Pavilion-Rokuon-Ji Temple. It was beautiful, every corner of the gardens were magnificent. We were not allowed though to tour through the interior of the temple cause it was too sacred.

Moving on to our next stop, was Kyoto National Park or also known as Kyoto Imperial Palace. This wasn’t in my opinion the most interesting or fascinating place we visited today but it was still nice to be surrounded by and standing on sacred and very historic ground.

LUNCH TIME! Oh my goodness the food for lunch today was great! Probably cause it was an American/Japanese buffet. It was the best meal by far! And where we were eating was right around some great shops where I even got some little gifts here and there ;) AND not to mention, while we were shopping I FOUND MY DREAM WATCH! I couldn’t believe it! It couldn’t have been any better even if I designed it myself! It has a big face, its simple, I got it in Japan AND IT HAS THE DRAGON SYMBOL ON IT IN JAPANESE!

Now it was time for the afternoon tour with Etuini. Our first stop was to the Heian Jingu Shrine. By far my favorite shrine we have been too on this trip. It was so peaceful, colorful and beautiful, Yazzy and I didn’t want to leave.

Next stop was the Sanjusangen-do Temple. Photography was not allowed again in this temple but oh..my..gosh.. the temple was ming blowing. When we walked in we came face to face with 1,001 statues of the Buddhist diety. It was seriously breath taking.

Then finally our last stop was the Kiyomizu Temple. Which was SUCH a hike up to the temple, of course they saved the hardest hike for last. But it was so worth it. When we reached the top the view of Kyoto was unbelievable, it was a sight I will never forget. Even on the way up there the tour guide gave me her sticky stick thing to lead the way! I felt so empowered.

Finally that was the end of our tours for the day, and we all grabbed taxi’s and headed out to dinner. We eat at this fancy restaurant and I would like to say it was great! We made the food ourselves and it was delicious! Finally starting to adjust a little to their food down here :P I ate tonight with Amanda, Katie and Cody. We had “interesting” dinner conversations and gossiped. It was one great day!