Since living in Japan, the destination at the top of my bucket list has been Kyoto. I've heard countless stories and seen hundreds of pictures of this magnificent place from my parents, but have never been able to experience it for myself. This weekend, I went to Kyoto for the day with a couple of friends and we explored around Higashiyama (the eastern region) which is home to the famous Kiyomizu-dera. Being as this was my first time going, it was truly unforgettable :) My friends and I got off at Shiji-Kawaramachi and were only a few minutes walk away from the Gion district. This area is known for its streets that are lined with old wooden buildings, tea houses and Japanese restaurants. I'm not sure how many parts there will be, but without further ado, here we go! :)
Got to explore Kyoto with these two lovelies! So lucky to have them as my friends :)
These cuties were sold in various shops as different animals, peoples, and objects and I couldn't resist buying one or two :) Even their name, Chiri-men, was enough to call my wallet out of hiding ^^
Geisha keychains and geisha coin purses as omiyage from Kyoto? You can't go wrong with that :]
I found it fascinating to see the urban side of Kyoto where department stores and various buildings lined the busy streets and yet...
Traditional and old wooden stores and buildings such as these were only a five minute walk away...
We went to a shop named Kyo-Kinana in Gion where they sell popular fall parfaits. The owner only makes 20 of these a day so we were sure to order ourselves a parfait as soon as the store opened! :) It was ice cream layered with cookies in the middle and a jam on top with piped kuri cream and a kuri on top ^^
They are also famous for their dekitate ice cream which is the creamiest, smoothest ice cream you will ever eat~ I got the kinnako-flavored dekitate ice cream along with my parfait because I couldn't not order both while in Kyoto :) It had a smooth, creamy texture- no ice or anything! A definite must if you're in the Gion district ^^
We made our way to the southern end of the Gion district to Kennin-ji which is the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto. For a fee of 500 yen, we were able to walk inside the temple grounds and rooms-an opportunity that none of us could pass up.
The Twin Dragons painting was drawn for the temple's 800-year anniversary and took the artist almost two years to complete. This masterpiece is located inside the Dharma Hall and words cannot describe how magnificent and majestic it was to see.
Thank you so much for reading! Part 2 will be up later this week :) It will have more temples and shrines and a glimpse of the crowded streets leading up to Kiyomizu-dera ^^
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