Kyoto with Ella - day one

On our first morning in Kyoto Ella and I foraged for our breakfast at the supermarket next door. Somehow we resisted the rows of super fresh sushi on offer and stuck to buying our usual granola and yoghurt bowls - although it was fun having to use Google Translate to work out what was on offer. Is that yoghurt, tofu or custard???

This pic was definitely sushi.

We started the day slowly in our cosy little apartment, enjoying a take away coffee along with our breakfast bowls. Rob is still not back to his full energy levels so Ella and I set out on our own this morning to do some sightseeing in Kyoto. 

We took a 207 bus (easy!) and made our way to the beautiful Kiyomizu-dera (Buddhist) Temple in the tree covered hills of East Kyoto. Kiyomizu-dera was founded here in 780  and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. It's an amazing construction (built without the use of any nails) in the most amazing setting overlooking the city of Kyoto.

I have shot this same scene three times now - once in late Summer, once in Autumn and now in the dead of Winter. It changes so much with the seasons.

The main hall of the Kiyomizu-dera Temple is an awesome structure ..........

A visit to the Koyasu Pagoda at the far southern end of the temple grounds is said to bring about an easy and safe childbirth ?? .............

Walking up to and away from the temple, along the steep and busy laneways of the historic Higashiyama District is part of the fun of visiting this temple too.

We came back to the apartment afterwards, had a cup of tea and then set off again, this time with Rob as well. We caught a train this time - on the Karasuma Line - up to Shijo Station - right in the middle of downtown Kyoto.

We found our way to the historic Nishiki Markets - 5 blocks long in the middle of the city and jam packed full of shops and restaurants operated by families who've been part of the markets for generations.  

We had a wonderful lunch here - one of the best of the trip (big call??), certainly the most diverse: udon noodles, tempura eggs, corn, vegies and prawns, fried tofu, gyoza, Japanese style vegie filled pancakes .... it was wonderful!

Afterwards we walked to the Gion District and strolled along Hanami-koji Street, hoping to catch a glimpse of geiko (geisha) and maiko (apprentices) in their traditional kimonos - which didn't happen today. But it is a lovely old part of Kyoto to wander around with its preserved wooden houses and traditional tea houses.   

We came across Yasui Kompiragu, a Shinto shrine in this area. It's known for its big "power stone" which has become popular with young Japanese women who come to the shrine to perform the ritual  of crawling through a hole in the stone, a ritual said to break up a bad relationship or initiate a new one. I didn't take a photo of people doing this despite how interesting it looked - it seemed too intrusive!

Dusk was falling as we got closer to home (by bus) tonight but we thought we deserved a reward after our day of sightseeing!