This post is the eighth in a series of nine illustrating my trip to Japan. On my seventh day in Japan (March 27th), I wanted to go to the outskirts of Kyoto and visit the shrines and temples.
Continue to the post for more pictures.
My first destination was the Kinkakuji temple, a temple covered in gold leaf with a beautiful reflecting pond.
As I walked around the Kinkakuji temple, it began to drizzle. Then it began to rain. Then it began to pour. I didn’t have an umbrella, so I found a place to hide until the rain let up a little. Unfortunately, it rained for the rest of the day, messing up my plans to really see many of the temples.
I found my favorite shrines were the ones that were hidden away in alleys away from the hustle and bustle of daily life in Kyoto.
Given the crappy weather, I decided to check out the downtown arcade. It was HUGE! Easily more than twice as large as any mall I’ve been to (King of Prussia being the largest I’ve seen); it just kept going and going and going and going.
At the end of the day I grabbed some octopus balls and headed back to the ryokan.
