Such a good day cycling around Kyoto! We rented some brilliant little single speeds near the train station, which came with a basket and a self-charging light when it got dark, would have loved it for cycling at home!
Single Speeds!
Single Speeds!
Our first destination was the Silver Pavilion, pretty nice cycle route even though the roads were fairly busy they seem pretty calm, so we weren’t concerned to simply meander about the place! We parked our bikes nearby and headed towards the pavilion, the entrance street was bustling with market stalls and tourists, we had a quick browse about the stalls and snaffled some free tasters from the sweetie stalls! 😉
The Pavilion itself was fantastic, as a Zen temple it was something completely different to what we had previously seen, the gardens were beautiful and the view of Kyoto from the top was brilliant! Unfortunately as it was rammed with tourists it took a little away from the Zennnnnn feeling.
Also by the way, the ‘Silver Pavilion’ is in fact brown and cream so don’t worry if you wander about feeling as if you’ve missed something, “where is all the silver?” Apparently the name came about to contrast with the Kinkauji – the Golden Pavilion which actually is gold!
Zen
Deceiving Silver Pavilion
En Route to collect the bikes we stopped at a stall for a green tea cream puff! Delicious and we got free green tea to go with it! All very Japanese!
Back on the bikes we headed along Philosophers Path, named after Nishida Kitaro one of Japans most famous philosophers, who is said to have meditated along here. I can see why he chose this place, it is gorgeous and peaceful with a flowing canal lined by cherry trees, again the colours were amazing but I’d have loved to see it during spring, when all of the cherry blossoms are in bloom. There was also many traditional style houses along the path as well as a Kimono Tailor! I’d love one but lugging it around for four months would be no fun and I’d probably never actually wear it… oh well!
There was so many kitty kats hanging around here to, reminded me of my three fluffys at home! These guys looked mega comfy all bundled together!
Fluffys
At the end of the path we diverted off and had a little cycle around the back streets, really good as absolutely no traffic and a great way to explore the place and get of the tourist track for a tad!
In the afternoon we left our bikes near the hostel and headed to Nishiki food market, mainly consisting of fish and obscure vegetables, though it was fun walking round and trying to guess what the hell some things were! In addition, an opportunity to try bits and pieces, again not exactly sure what we tried!
Bento
Octo pop
After the market unfortunately it was time to return our little bicycles, we became quite attached and didn’t really want to give them back! Can’t really cart a couple of single speeds around SEA though so we begrudgingly returned them. Walked back to the hostel, stopping to get some food supplies, including some obligatory sushi!
In the evening the hostel held a party to celebrate their 2nd Birthday, which was fun and a great way to meet others. 100 Yen beer and free pizza also helped the evening along! We met some really nice Canadians who had both purchased kimonos (jealous) who proceeded to put them on and wear them for the rest of the evening! All in all a fantastic day!
Im Just a Girl in the World 