Kyoto!

So, two weeks ago, I went to Kyoto for four days, and managed to take over 700 pictures. Now, not all of those pictures are great, mind, but I got rid of most of the blurry ones for your viewing pleasure :D (I could probably babble on forever about these places, so ask if you have questions! A far more interesting read can be found at Kuri's blog, Follow Kristen in Japan.

Day one:

• Shinkansen ride
• Kiyomizu-dera
• Kodaiji
• Chion-in

Day two: We met another Kristen at the hostel, from Australia, and so we travelled with her most of Saturday. I managed to spend about 90 USD on two bolts of fabric, two kimono, two underkimono, and five obi belts. Go me.

• Toji temple market
• Ginkaku-ji: The Silver Pavilion
• The Path of Philosophy

Day three: Fushimi Inari was one of the picturesque places we had been looking forward to all trip.

• Fushimi Inari
• Nara Park (Nara)
• Toudaiji (Nara)

Day four: The Golden Pavilion was unreal to see in person -- I didn't know something could even look that gold! At the Manga Museum, I felt odd not being amongst the visitors cosplaying! We decided to visit Hongwanji on a whim, after discovering the Costume Museum was closed (and I narrowly avoided pitching a fit -- Kuri was most patient with me, lol!). Hongwanji, one of the largest wooden structures in the world, is a beautiful, still active temple. Next door was another beautiful temple, Koshoji, with no people in sight. The atmosphere of these two stops was amazing -- oddly, in part because we had to remove our shoes to ascend to the temple. For me, anyway.

• Kinkaku-ji: The Golden Pavilion
• Kyoto International Manga Museum
• Nishi-Hongwanji
• Koshoji

If you have the time, please click on the "Like" button for your favorite pictures. I want to cull through them a bit more at some point, and it would be nice to have outside opinion... :D