kyoto (part 2)

Today, my aunty M1, W1 and I did more "sight-seeing" starting with West Kyoto's Arashiyama. Satoshi and I have visited here during Autumn in the past, but never during Spring. It was very beautiful.

You can rent boats to view the cherry blossom (spring) or maple leaves (autumn), while on the Hozu River.

There is a huge bamboo grove which you can walk through.

And at Tenryuji, you can experience walking through their garden. They even have these huge devil tiles which decorate their roof tops.

After roaming around Arashiyama, we got onto the train and headed south to Uji. This area is known for their green tea and a temple called Byodo-in. Some from Hawaii may recognize this name, as there is a replica of the temple in a cemetery called the Valley of the Temples in Kaneohe. I had only visited the one in Hawaii, so I was quite interested in seeing what the original looked like. I was a bit shocked to see that it was quite worn down.

We had lunch at a noodle shop called Kawabun. It was a pretty interesting experience for the two of them to sit on the floor and eat. I ordered the cha-soba which was noodles made from green tea. It was really good and really warmed me up.

Kawabun
22 Uji Renge
Uji, Kyoto
Phone: 0774.21.2556

After lunch and the temple, we walked across a bridge that crosses the Uji River. It was very beautiful to see the cherry trees along the riverbanks. Despite the cold weather, there were many people out picnicking and enjoying the day.

We then stopped in at Azumaya for a little sweet treat. I had their matcha set. Matcha tea (concentrated green tea) with cha-dango. Little rice cakes made from green tea served with very bitter green tea.

Azumaya
21-2 Uji Renge
Uji, Kyoto
Phone: 0774.22.8080

It was a nice day despite the cold winds. Still, we were very fortunate to see so many trees in full bloom and for the most part, it was sunny! Kyoto is busy for the most part of the year, but times like this, it is especially crowded! I hope my Aunty and W1 enjoyed themselves as much as I did!

Hope you are having a great week!