Kyoto, December 31, 2011 - January 2, 2012

On the way from Takayama to Toyama and to Kyoto, we see a variety of weather. From Takayma to Toyama it is mostly snow flurries.

Before descending from the mountains to Toyama the sky clears and we see some sun.

Then from Toyama to Kyoto it gets progressively greyer and greyer, and we see less and less snow.

Biwa-ko.

Our room at Tour Club Hostel. We have a private bathroom, which is really tiny.

After settling in and a quick shower we head back to Kyoto Station and Porta mall for dinner. We start with somewhat weird sushi and soba sets at Sushidon. Then we move on to Touyoutei Cafe & Grill for burgers: Japanese style ...

.. and original stewed with a baked potato.

For dessert we have mulled wine with a snow man. The snow man had one too many.

Japanese comforter covers are quite comfortable to use.

Our first day in Kyoto starts grey but warm.

And it only gets warmer as the sun comes out.

This day is dedicated for temples, each one of them more gorgeous than another.

The first one is Sanjusangen-do dating back to 1164. Only the main hall was rebuilt in 1266 after the fire that destroyed the complex in 1249. The temple hosts one thousand statues of Thousand Armed Kannon, of which 124 are the original ones rescued from the fire, and the rest were rebuilt in the 13th century.

The garden is pretty, too. Photographing inside the temple is strictly forbidden, and all visitors comply with the regulations.

The temple name, Sanjusangen-do, literally means Hall with thirty three spaces between columns, describing the architecture of the long main hall of the temple. (from Wikipedia)

Between temple visits we have coffee in small coffee shops like this.

We climb to Kiyomizu-dera temple.

Higashi-Otani cemetery.

The temples attract a lot of visitors in this holiday season.

Location map the Japanese style.

People are getting ready for the new year celebration.

Chion-in temple main gate.

A gate to Heian-Jingu Shrine.

Heian-Jingu Shrine.

We spend a while in the gardens of Heian-Jingu Shrine.

be careful and so on.

After the garden we visit Cheesecake Paradise for ... well, some cheesecake -- two different kinds -- and coffee.

Okazaki cafe.

This must be somewhere around Kurodani Temple.

Eventually we find Tetsugaku-no-michi, the Philosopher's path, an idyllic footpath that follows a canal lined by cherry trees.

We follow the path to Ginkakuji Temple, our final destination of the day.

Fall colors are radiant.

Ginkakuji Temple, a Zen temple, was founded in 1482.

Our temple tour for the day is over, but walking is not.

We don't know what we are thinking when we decide to walk all the way to Gael Irish Pub in Gion district. It is more than 5 kilometers, and we have already been on our feet at least twice that long.

It is only quarter to six when we reach Gael -- we started our day early --- and we are the first customers. We have mulled wine to warm us up. The place is quiet and warm, and we are not ready to face the cold outdoors yet, so we order pints of Kilkenney and an order of nachos. We still plan to have dinner somewhere else, but don't know where.

Then we find Yona Yona Ale, of which the menu says "Japanese take on the English barley wine". For us it tastes more like American IPA. The beer is from Nagano.

The place is gradually getting crowded. We abandon the plan to have dinner elsewhere, and spend the rest of the night at Gael with an Aussi couple that joins us at our table. We have bangers and mash, and sheapard's pie for dinner with some wine for a change.

Before midnight we head to our hotel, walking in the crisp night. Meanwhile the year changes. Happy 2012!

On a new year day we sleep late and skip the run (again). At 10:30am we are at Porta for breakfast. The places are about to open at 11am., but Capricciosa is already open, so we have salad, pizza, and pasta for breakfast. The food is ok, the coffee good.

We take the train to Saga-Arashiyama station.

These seats can be easily turned around to face the direction the train is travelling. Clever!

On our way from Arashiyama station to the bamboo grove we find a small coffee place run by an elderly man. The service is slow, and the coffee is meticulously brewed from beans. Despite the old time atmosphere, the place attracts patrons of all ages, from older and middle age couples to young males.

We really don't have much difficulty in finding the bamboo grove.

The grove is a really mystical place, and it would have been even more so if there hadn't been so many visitors.

Hozu-gawa.

Boats awaiting tourist by Katsura-gawa. It may be a bit off-season though.

Birds next to Togetsu-kyo.

Then we head to Arashiyama Monkey Park.

It is quite a climb to the viewing platform on top of the monkey park.

In this monkey park, the monkeys roam free and the humans are put in the cage.

The monkeys are not given cute human baby names that reflect their personality, but dull codes consisting of their mother's name, the birth month and the year (who knows who's the father, anyway)

The monkeys are not aggressive but a bit defensive.

Soft Ice cream. Green tea and roasted tea. Delicious.

When back in Kyoto we climb to the top floor of Kyoto Station to get a quick look over sunbathing Kyoto city.

Kyoto Station.

Dance costumes at a window.

An entry in Ikebana competition displayed at the Kyoto Station.

After doing laundry we head out to buy tickets to Sapporo. At the time we are done with the tickets, most of the restaurants are either closed or too smoky.

Keittiö is kitchen in Finnish. However, this is not a restaurant but so called "lifestyle" store.

After checking a few places, we find Ginnan. We order bruscetta, japanese omelet, and chicken.

Our last morning in Kyoto starts rainy so we skip the run (again). We realize that the sale season is on. We visit a couple of malls and are awed by the selection (of fresh tomatoes for instance).

It is rainy and sunny, rainy and sunny. We try to stay in covered shopping arcades which are plenty. In one of them we find several outdoor stores. We always find something worth buying in those places :)

We walk quite a tour to find Cafe Bibliotec HELLO! but it is closed. Then we have nothing else to do but to return to the hotel and pack, to catch a shinkansen to Tokyo.