Scenes from Kyoto: Temple Edition
Although viewing temples and shrines got a little old, and not all stacked up to my favorite, Kyoto’s temples and shrines have some fantastic imagery. Here are some scenes from Kyoto’s many temples (and we only visited a fraction of them):
My Favorite Shrine
We saw a lot of shrines and temples while we were in Japan. It is kind of hard to avoid them; they are everywhere, even tucked into little spaces between buildings. Although many of them have intricate details, a lot of them started looking the same. One shrine in particular stood out as my favorite: the Fushimi Inari shrine on the outskirts of Kyoto. It is the headquarters of the Shinto religion in Japan and is made up of a series of vermillion torji gates. We followed a path under gate after gate up and down a tree covered hillside. It was so peaceful there (minus my grumblings towards the top of the hill).
Scenes from Kyoto: Market Edition
Every country has their markets. I love the farmers and craft markets at home, and I love them even more on the road because it shows off all of the local delicacies, specialties and colors. Although we didn’t buy anything in Kyoto’s market except for what turned out to be not too tasty gummy candy. But things were interesting to look at. Here are some scenes from Kyoto’s market:
Scenes from Kyoto
If you want to see a mix of old and new Japan, it all can be found in Kyoto. While we personally found that Japan’s other cities captivated our attention more, Kyoto is worth a visit for sure. Here’s some scenes from around town:
Lit up lanterns in Kyoto's market.
A late day bike ride along the river.
A real geisha spotting in Gion; sorry for the blurriness. I need to work on my paparrazzi skills.
Kyoto's "Lantern Way"
Bamboo path in Arashiyama
Looking up on the bamboo path.
Pottery displayed in a Kyoto coffee shop.
Kyoto's modern train station.
View of Kyoto Tower and the rest of Kyoto from the train station.
Scenes from Miyajima
[Editor’s note: As much as I miss my friends and family and wish I was eating turkey today, I’m very thankful we have this incredible opportunity to travel around the world for a year and see amazing things like Miyajima. I know you all (at least the you all that are in the United States) are not reading this today, you’ve got turkey to eat and football to watch, but just getting caught up so you have a way to procrastinate Monday morning. Happy Thanksgiving!]
Miyajima is an island close to Hiroshima, home to street-roaming deer, a scenic Buddhist shrine, and an iconic vermillion Tojii gate that appears to be floating in the water during high tide. We timed our visit with high tide and sunset, and found a peaceful island with roaming deer and an ethereal beauty. Here’s some scenes from our visit:
