tokuya & kenninji

Saturday, we went to Kyoto. There was an exhibit that Satoshi wanted to see at the Museum of Kyoto.

So while he did that, I walked around Sanjo.

Afterwards we met up and headed towards Gion.

While we were waiting to cross, we were standing right next to a geisha...not 5 seconds later, bazillions of foreigners across the street pointed their smartphones & cameras at us.

When the light changed, boy, could she walk really fast and boy, did we photobomb everyone's pictures...

As we walked down Hanamikoji-dori, I remembered a sweet shop that I wanted to try...Gion Tokuya.

So, we stood in line.

They have warabi mochi & kuzumochi on their menu as well as shave ice.

It was a little to cool for shave ice, so we had warabi mochi & matcha kuzumochi.

This warabi mochi is served on ice and was silky...delicious with kinako (soy bean powder) and a little kuromitsu (molasses/black honey).

But be careful..if you try to "slurp" it, the kinako will hit you first, you will choke/cough and the mochi will go projectile...trust me, I am now forever traumatized by this...thank goodness no one was sitting right next to our table to see...eep!

The matcha kuzumochi was also served on ice and delicious, but really slippery.

With my chopstick skills this was also embarrassing...lucky for that wooden spoon...

We loved the chunky sweet bean paste as well as a mound of matcha to sprinkle onto the kuzumochi.

Down the street is Kenninji, the oldest Zen Temple in Kyoto.

For 500 yen, you can walk around their property AND take pictures...most places don't allow you take photos.

The highlight of this temple, in my opinion, is the twin dragons which is on the ceiling of a separate building and is 11.4 meters (37.4 feet) by 15.7 meters (51.5 feet) (the size of 108 tatami mats, which I think is a symbol for Buddhism/Zen)

If the weather is nice you can also sit on their wooden decks and reflect.

Despite my earlier traumas...it was nice to get out and about.

Gion Tokuya
510-217 Gionmachi-Minami-gawa
Higashiyama-ku,Kyoto
Phone: 075.561.5554
Hours:12:00-18:00 but closes early if they run out.