Bamboo-zled by Ice Cream
July 29, 2018
On day two we woke up to find out many train lines are shut down due to a looming typhoon. We had planned to visit Chuck's friend Yosuke but the trains that would get us there weren't in service. This is our second potential typhoon and we are hoping it passes us like the last one in Hong Kong did. Since we weren't seeing Yosuke, we ended up having a lazy morning, waiting for weather updates. We then decided our area was safe and headed out.
Nishiki Market
We began the day with a walk to Nishiki market. The Main Street was lined with cute shops and delicious looking food stands. We grabbed various items at some of the carts, grilled scallops, wagyu beef on a stick and croquettes. Everything was wonderful and Anna discovered that maybe she does like street food more than she thought from Thailand. We also had delicious green tea ice cream until Anna spilled it all over herself and then we had to head back to the hotel so she could change.
Tenryuji Temple
Bamboo Forest
We went to Tenryuji temple, a zen Buddhist temple. The temple dates to the 1300’s and has burned down in fires and been rebuilt several times. The gardens however are still the original design. The stones raked into patterns, trees were perfectly groomed, and the moss all added to a very relaxing and calm mood while walking through it.
We then walked through the Arashiyama bamboo grove. Walking through, we were surrounded by the giant bamboo trees, swaying around us in the breeze. We were also greeted by many tourists who were dressed as geishas. Apparently, a very common tourist activity that we don’t quite understand here is that people can pay a lot of money to dress up as a geisha for the day, walking around with an updo, wearing the kimono, and walking awkwardly in wooden sandals. Men can also join the action and dress up as samurais, but really they’re just wearing robes and wooden sandals.
Next, we headed toward the Gion District. We walked through the Yasaka Shrine, over 1300 years old, and gardens surrounding it around sunset and watched as the lanterns were turned on. We strolled through Gion down little side streets lined with wooden buildings, many of which were old merchant homes. Apparently property taxes used to be based on street frontage, so these homes were built with narrow facades, but extend further back than other homes. Now, many of them are shops and restaurants and we found an excellent ramen spot in one for dinner.
