Gion was the only tourist trap we came across and even then it was only the food prices. One of the few places with old buildings that are not replicas.
There are several 'special' cherry trees and the evening 'light shows' were wonderful
Kyoto is definitely the temple city. It was our favourite place. The Japanese do everything so well. This is the entrance ticket - it was beautiful in it's own right.
The majority of the major river banks are lined with Cherry Trees. When you walk amongst them it is tranquil.
Our only sighting of a Geisha. (you have to zoom in to actually see her
As this is a festival many Japanese don traditional outfits. Men as well as women. They look fantastic. Their hair is very ornate. There was a noticeable amount of giggling going on.
Never found out why but many of the little stone statues have bibs.
One thing to note - if you don't like steps stay away from Kyoto! My calves were killing me.
We discovered a chain of restaurants where you order from a machine with photos, as you entered the door - made eating more predicable :) although most places have English menus - if you ask. We did leave one restaurant when we couldn't face anything on the menu, which included uncooked horse meat, cod gut & chicken neck.
Tokyo is next
Wonderful
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