1/20/2018

A day trip to Kyoto on 2nd January, 2018.


 After coming back from a big event of first Shinto shrine visit Hatsumode (初詣) in Ise Shrine (伊勢神宮), we've already decided where to go on 2nd of January. It was going to be the old, most famous and popular destination Kyoto (京都) !

 

 Driving 150km to the west from my hometown Nagoya, it takes around two hours ride to get there. Along the highway was....



 ...endless mountains covered with snow, clouds were floating among them. It was just a scenery in Japan's winter, and I definitely love it :) With a couple of hot tea, chatting with my family all along, I felt like I could drive forever.





So, we're here :) Just a few kilometers north of Kyoto Station, there is a famous shopping district Nishiki market (錦市場) with a bunch of small stores selling from clothes to bite-size food. Since We both are big fans of wandering around, why don't we just stop by corners to take a photo? ;)


 I love those mossa-green dishes called Oribe (織部). With so many different styles and colours of dish in this country, that's my best :) Few blocks away from this arcade area, new year's bargain, the biggest bargain of a year, were held in department stores and sophisticated clothing shops. It's always fun to see people walking around with big square paper bags with a brand logo on their hands. Anyway, we sit at a cafe for a while, take a breath and rest, then go back to the car.



 I know it's completely opposite from where we were just ago, but there is another Kyoto to see before getting back to home. North of Kyoto, there is a Temple of the Golden Pavilion kinkaku-ji(金閣寺) . With its tremendously gorgeous looking, it's absolutely a must-visit place when you're in Kyoto. Every child who go to Kyoto for school trip is due to come to this Zen temple, including me (It's nearly 16 years ago, haha).  This shinny temple sits in front of a small pond as if floating on it, and when the sun comes out from clouds, it looks as if heaven was finally before us. So nice and worth visiting ;)


 On our way back home was stuck by heavy traffic jam, which put us additional
 five hours ride rather than just two hours for usual drives. It didn't annoy us, since we got plenty of time to talk :)

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