anaroundtheworld

We took the train at Kyoto Main Station for our daytrip to Nara (Local train 70 min, 690Y) Trains leave regularly so no real need to check timetable.

When you arrive in Nara you can go straight to the Tourist Info Center on the right, were a lady will give you an English map and some advice that, according to her tone, you'd better follow :-). She was very nice and speaking very good English anyway.

Arriving in Nara you can just walk to the Park. On you way you'll find the Kofuko-Ji and it's Five-storied Pagoda. We didn't visit the other things like the Treasure Hall as there were entry fees and there were so many things to see that we tought it was not really worth it.

Then you take a walk in the park towards Kasuga Grand Shrine. The shrine is all new and we were lucky to arrive during a ceremny. But the walk to the shrine with the numerous stone lantern along the path is just as beautiful.

Back down the hill, the Todai-Ji complex is a "must-see" with the monumental buddha. You'll find one of the pillar of the temple with a hole in it, which represent Buddha's nostril. If you can fit in the hole, then you're sure to reach enlightment.

We then walked back to the station through some old city streets. Finally we stayed in Nara from 11:00 to 16:00 which allowed us to come back to Kyoto for late afternoon drinks and diner

On our 3rd day in Kyoyo it was really time to start doing the "tourist" tour of Kyoto as we had avoided the biggest sights up until now.

We started with Nijo-Jo, the castle of Kyoto. Nice but not spectacular... Also a "must see" so... Then we went to the Imperial Palace but you need to apply for entrance in an outside office, which we hadn't done. We just took a walk in the gardens around then...

The philosophers' path was waiting for us. Bus stop at Ginkaku-Ji Mae. A very nice "promenade" along a little river, with cherry blossom all around. And also a lot of tourists but what can you do?

We had to leave without finishing the path as we had to be back at 15:00 to Gion for the Miyako-Odori dance (cherry-blossom dance). This dance is performed by the geishas and Maikos in April. You can reserve seats at the Koubu Kaburenjo Theatre by phone (+81 75 541 3391). The cheapest ones are 1900Y, you're seating on big spaces, not on chairs and you'd better start queuing 1/2 hour before the show. Appart from that the view is certainly just as good as the seats at 3800Y. You can check the pictures on my previous post on Miyako-Odori.

Than we hurried towards Kiyomizu-Dera which is really a fantastic temple. Even only your path to get there is one of the best street in Kyoto. It is tourist shops all along, but still nice. This is also the place where we saw a real geisha "live". Also a lot of legends and beliefs exist around this temple (the two love stones for example).