Kyoto - Day 6-9

Kyoto captivated us. We didn't know in advance how long we would stay here, and we ended up staying a long time. In fact, we are still here. After two days spent in the mountains on Mt. Fuji, we couldn't imagine that we would suddenly find ourselves in a city full of culture and geishas in pressed kimonos. We stayed in the Gion district in the city center. Later, we found out that this is the original geisha area.

Overall, Kyoto is a very historic city. It was the original capital of Japan. We knew it had a lot of culture and historic temples, but we had no idea it would be so big and sprawling. We went to the most famous temple – Chion-in, where a ceremony was taking place. We had to take off our shoes when entering the temple. Eight monks came and started playing various instruments and chanting prayers with a loud “ooohm”. Our next steps led us to Kiyomizudera Temple, where we watched a beautiful sunset.

In addition to culture, we experienced many other Japanese traditions in Kyoto. We walked around Nishiki Market, where we discovered many fascinating things. Many of them we didn't even recognize - everywhere there were signs in Japanese. Pickled vegetables of various colors and shapes, seafood, small squids on skewers, chopsticks and various decorations.

Kyoto is very large, there are countless temples here and it is impossible to see them all. We were interested in the Golden Pavilion on Lake Kinkakuji. We also went to the bamboo forest on the outskirts of Kyoto. And one of the big tourist attractions is the path formed by torii gates at the Fushimi Inari Shrine. It is a really large complex where you walk along an endless path of gates. They are all red and there are several Buddhist stops along the way. We also discovered a sacred tree here, under which, when you walk, your knees and back will stop hurting.

Another Japanese tradition is onsen. They are spas, separated separately for men and separately for women. They have strict rules, for example, tattoos are not allowed. Before entering there are mini showers and watering barrels with water. The onsen itself is a very hot bath, definitely over 40 degrees. It definitely warms you up. Onsens are typical all over Japan, because there are several thermal springs in the country. We visited the onsen and we will definitely do it again.

Ramen is eaten more than sushi here, especially in winter. It's a broth with noodles, a boiled egg and various ingredients, partly with chopsticks and partly with a spoon. Everyone here is incredibly nice. We're already getting around with local transport. Tomorrow we have a trip to Nara, so hopefully we won't get lost.