sheep-pig does (did) the world: The Kyoto Kaleidoscope: 4

Kyoto has often been described as the 'heart and soul' of Japan. Full of cultural heritage, Kyoto boasts almost 2000 Buddhist and Shinto shrines. Rich textures of twelve centuries surround you in this city; from the centuries old feel of the Gion quarter to the quiet cobblestone backstreets lined with traditional wooden houses found near the Philosopher's Walk. It is certainly a city that could captivate any audience... We had a ball here!

We arrived in the evening and made our way by bus to the Gran MS Kyoto Hotel in downtown Kyoto (we would easily have won that heat in an Amazing Race episode!) Our little 4 x 6 room was perfectly located to explore the city; close enough to walk or cycle to the main sightseeing places yet quiet enough to sleep well. The room was dark due to the blacked out window - no matter what the time of day, it felt like the middle of the night (not such a bad thing as it led to well rested nights and many afternoon naps..!)

We found the Nishiki Market that first night (a five block long shopping street lined with hundreds of shops and restaurants). For the first time we saw Takoyaki (octopus balls) being made and we bought some for 250 yen (~$2.50AUD). They weren't quite cooked well enough (still a little doughy) but the warmth was delightful on the cool night and the novelty of seeing them made was well worth the yen!

Pontocho is a narrow street along the river lined with atmospheric restaurants and bars. The next evening we walked through here to get to Gion Corner where we saw a Geisha quickly scurrying away (too quick for our paparazzi lenses). We were a little late to see the performances at Gion Corner so we made our way back to Pontocho where we ran into two Geisha in the narrow street before having dinner in a lovely little restaurant called Mimasu-ya overlooking the water. You wouldn't think the sizzling beef would win the pick of the lot, but its delicious sauce won hands down!

We hired Kyoto city bicycles and cycled around the various temples and shrines in Central Kyoto over the next two days. This was a lot of fun - we loved immersing ourselves in the culture and particularly liked the quiet sites best. We cycled our way through old cobblestoned streets, at one stage stumbling across a well placed coffee shop to rejuvenate, gaining the much needed energy to speed past tourist stores and dodge the at times busy traffic!

On bikes we visited a number of place including:

Yasaka Pagoda

Kiyomizu Temple

Otani Mausoleum

Nanzenji Temple

Philosophers Walk

Ginkakuji Temple

Nijo-jo Castle

Kinkakuji (Golden) Temple

We made our way back to Kyoto Station to take the bullet-train to Nagoya, onwards to Nagano and a then a bus to Hakuba, (our next destination!)

Next issue: The Hakuba Herald.