Kyoto: Day 2

We have seen so many shrines and temples today-almost too many to count! My favorite was actually the first one that my dad and I saw as we went out to get some juice from the minimart on the corner. It was tiny, with a few flowers and a tiny candle. However, there was a shiny coffee cup in the place of a statue! After breakfast, we made our way across the river and explored the arcades and shops on the other side. We went to the Chion-in temple and saw a Jodo Buddhist ceremony. After that, we walked to the Kyoto Museum of traditional crafts-what a cool place! We learned how to make lacquer and fans (though I definitely couldn't do it myself!) and ate lunch at this small restaurant called Asakusa that was very good. During the afternoon we walked up to the Philosopher's path and over to the Silver Pavilion, which was sadly under renovation-but we went in anyway. Finally, at the end of the day, we wearily plodded back to the Keage station and took the subway to our hotel at Karasuma Oike, where we collapsed, too exhausted to think. My dad says we have probably walked 10 miles today! We saw this poster advertizing a lit up Nijo-jo castle and went there, where we saw women in kimonos playing music and some beautiful cherry trees.

Fun Fact:Jodo means "Pure Water" and is a sect of Buddhism. Chion-in temple is it's main temple.