Leaving Kyoto

You know the type of place you visit for the first time and are just amazed?  When it comes time to leave you are already making plans to return?  I have lots of places like that.  And Kyoto is one of them. 

On the morning of the day we had to leave Kyoto, we had just enough time to go see one of the most famous temples in Japan-and probably the world.  The Temple of the Golden Paviliion-Kinkakuji （金閣寺）in Japanese.   

We got there by bus from Kyoto station-which I do not recommend.  It was hot, extremely crowded, and took more than an hour.  But any suffering we put up with on the bus was made up for when we got to the temple.

It was beautiful.  Picturesque in a way that almost didn't seem real.  The weather was perfect-the brilliant blue sky reflected in the calm pool that surrounds the temple.   It was breathtaking. 

When the time came to leave, we took a taxi.  Totally worth it.  We had to make to the train station to catch our shinkansen (bullet train) to our next destination. 

We finally reached Kawaguchiko station around 6 that evening, after the train ride and a long bus ride. 

Kawaguchiko Station lies right at the foot of Mount Fuji.  The next day, we would take a day long bus tour around the mountain and the five lakes of Mount Fuji-the “Fuji go ko.”  We were staying at another branch of K’sHouse-it was fabulous.  Excellent service and rooms. 

Exhausted from all of our travel, we managed to rally and go out in search of dinner.  The fates smiled on us: right around the corner, we found an Indian restaurant.  It was perfect.  (I looooove Indian food. Love it.)

Drinking Indian beer-the same kind we drank in India a few months ago.