Gion and Maruyama Park

My plan for today was to visit the Gion area of Kyoto and the nearby Maruyama Park. There was hardly anybody about at this time of the morning, it was a 30 minute walk from my hotel to Gion. The difference between Tokyo and Kyoto is plain. Tokyo feels like a place people come to visit, Kyoto a place where people live. In almost any direction you look you can see low hill and mountains in between the buildings.

On the walk to Gion, Kyoto

I got to Maruyama Park about 7.00 and it was wonderfully peaceful, I’m pleased I’d got there that early. The first thing I saw when getting to the park is the entrance to the Yasaka Shrine.

Entrance to the Yasaka Shrine, Kyoto

I walked around the shrines and the rest of the lovely park here. I stopped by a pond to eat the breakfast I’d bought from a convenience store earlier and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the park.

Breakfast spot, Maruyama Park, Kyoto

By the time I exited the park a bus load of tourists had turned up, so I’m glad I got there when I did.

I walked back to Gion, the geisha district and there were a lot more people about now. Lots of women dressed in kimonos were walking about, there were also a few men dressed in traditional Japanese robes. I even found a Leica store in a wooden building.

Leica Store, Gion, Kyoto

While walking down the various narrow streets of Gion I came across another temple in another beautiful garden.

Kennin-ji Temple, Gion, Kyoto

Traditional Japanese Dress, Gion, Kyoto

I stopped for some lunch in a small Japanese restaurant in the back streets of Gion, I had beef and chicken tempura udon and it was lovely.

About 16.00 I headed back to the hotel for a rest, I sat in the lounge and updated my journal and wrote a blog post. On the way back to the hotel (another 30 minute walk) I really needed the toilet, so Google Maps to the rescue, I did a search for public toilets. It found one half way to the hotel. When I got there the toilet was in a garden/shrine. I had to pay 500 yen to get in and I had to walk all around the garden until I got to the toilet. I’m glad I did though as the gardens were beautiful.

Shosei-en Garden, Kyoto

I headed back out again about 17.30 to the Nishiki Market area to a bar that Martin Foot told me about called Ki Bar. I ended up having a very good evening there, I had a couple of Japanese beers and chatted with the people in the bar. These were the first people I’d spoken more than a few words too since arriving in Japan (other than speaking to my wife and kids on the phone). The woman behind the bar was from New Zealand, there were a couple of English speaking Japanese too. Later in the evening an American and an Australian came in too. I stayed for a little while before heading back to the hotel for bed.

33000 steps, 15 miles today.

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