Day 6 (Kyoto)

On our second-to-last day in Kyoto, despite being tired, we woke up early to take the bus to Arashiyama after having the same breakfast as yesterday.

Arashiyama is a district of Kyoto and in my opinion, it is also the most beautiful, which we quickly realized upon arriving there. On our way to the Tenryu-ji temple, we walked through the area and discovered that Arashiyama is much greener than the rest of Kyoto and significantly greener than Osaka. The houses there are also frequently in the old Japanese style and it is teeming with nature. Even at the temple, there was a large temple garden adorned with many beautiful flowers. Right next to it was the bamboo grove with meters-high bamboo. Behind it, there was a kind of small hiking trail through the greenery, which led to a beautiful viewpoint where we could see the river and the mountains. We sat there for some time and enjoyed the view. On our way back, we passed by the river where several people were rowing boats. At the Togetsu-kyo bridge, there were many stands set up before and after, like at a street festival. It was bustling with visitors, and once again, many women were wearing yukata. While strolling through the area, Nico and I tried a lot, but one thing stuck in our minds: One stand was selling meat skewers, but not just any meat skewers, no! Expensive skewers with Kyoto beef and wagyu beef. And this meat was definitely worth the money! Not only was the taste fantastic, but the high fat content in the meat also provided an incredible texture. And all of this despite being only lightly seasoned and quickly grilled. Nothing fancy, just the meat itself was amazing.

Afterwards, we spent some more time in the area, as it was not only beautiful but also cozy.

When we finally arrived at the hotel after the quite crowded bus ride, we already partially planned our stay in Tokyo. This was because we had to book some things online in advance. However, I won't reveal what they were yet, I want to keep it exciting 😉

For dinner, we had delicious curry, but Japanese curry. It is not the same as Indian curry and here it is called karee. On top of that, we had tasty tonkatsu (similar to schnitzel but fried). Once again, I couldn't resist dessert, so we went to the nearby supermarket, where I got myself some cash in addition to an ice cream. To my surprise, cash is still widely used here in Japan, similar to Germany.

P.S. Mami, if you're reading this, I hope you liked our gift. Feline put in a lot of effort.