No Regrets!

This morning’s excursion took us to Kiyomizu-dera Temple, beginning with a charming uphill stroll along a shop-lined, rustic street to the entrance. The grounds of Kiyomizu-dera are massive, with meandering paths and a dozen different structures. Very walkable and cool, we spent a very pleasant couple of hours exploring it all. In a change from yesterday, the weather cooperated perfectly, with photogenic clouds serving as the perfect backdrop in the morning.

We’re seeing a lot of temples on this trip, but I like how each of them are a little bit different. Some are massive megaliths, some are tiny and shiny and gleam in the sun, some feature giant Buddhas inside, some are huge complexes that you walk around for hours.

Once again, the surge of people that visits these temples later in the day is unbelievable. Our plan to visit temples early in the morning is the only way to make them tolerable. Dave would go nuts in larger crowds, and I must admit that even my patience runs thin with all the crowding.

While perusing nearby souvenir shops, I happened upon a Studio Ghibli shop. I’m finding Totoro and the Catbus everywhere, but very little Princess Mononoke stuff. Frustrating.

Next, a brisk walk across town to Sanjūsangendō Temple. Dave walks fast, and my little legs sometimes struggle to keep up. I’ll often find Dave clipping along 20 feet in front of me, even if I am the one doing the navigating.

Sanjūsangendō Temple has expansive grounds but is not all that impressive from the outside. The draw here is the enormous main hall finished in 1266 and filled with 1,001 unique, life-sized statues of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy and compassion. The statues are made of Japanese cypress and are covered in gold leaf. Photos are not allowed in there, but a photo book in the gift shop is available at a good price.

Then a taxi over to Nishiki Market, a narrow and bustling arcade with souvenir and food stalls and signature tricolor skylights running the length. For lunch, we had a combination of tempura and fried shrimp sticks, chicken with cheese on a stick, pork gyoza, and candied strawberry and grape on a stick. Couldn’t bring myself to try the baby octopus stuffed with quail egg on a stick.

This place is as much a feast for the eyes as it is for the tummy. So much to see here. But this is not a place for claustrophobes. It takes some patience navigating the crowd of tourists, but we walked the entire length of the market and had a good time doing it.

After talking up the “famichiki” fried chicken patty from Family Mart for days, Dave decided it was time for us to give it a shot. We were disappointed, finding it floppy, salty, and of questionable consistency. Not totally sure which part of the chicken is in there.

We topped off our gastrointestinally confusing lunch with a matcha with gold leaf soft serve in a cone. Then back to the hotel for some much-needed digestion and relaxation. I sat on the balcony to blog for a bit and then hit the hotel hot tub. I floated around in it like a chicken meatball for an hour.

Dinner was at Sushi Ginza Onodera, a restaurant in the Four Seasons. Like our other sushi experiences, every dish was a work of art. Here, the chef’s fingernails looked clean. Chef and staff very patient with our photos.

Then we headed out for one last bar crawl. Navigating our way to Pontocho after dark, the streets and alleys of Kyoto were quiet and felt totally safe.

Tonight, after a few nights of trying and failing, I was determined to get us into Bee’s Knees, one of the highest rated bars in Kyoto. When we arrived, the guy at the door quickly installed an app on my phone and put me on the waiting list. Two hours. We filled the time by walking to five other bars around Pontocho. Two of them, we couldn’t find due to a lack of signage, and three of them were empty. We decided to give L’Ecantour another shot, but the line there was not moving. We found ourselves in front of a know-it-all tourist from Wisconsin who was quick to give advice to others in line. Dave grew increasingly annoyed with him, but he kept his mouth shut.

After a quick drink at World, we got the notification that Bee’s Knees was ready for us, so we booked it over there. Cool little joint. While small, fitting only about 15 people, this place feels the most like a traditional Western bar. I’m surprised there aren’t more places like this, or bigger places like this. They would absolutely crush it.

We spoke to a Japanese barback who, despite her limited English, seemed curious about us and excited to chat. She was from Osaka and gave us some tips about where to go. After finishing our drinks and hesitating, I got the feeling that the staff wanted us to give up our seats and leave. So we did.

Today was a new steps record for our trip, nearly 25,000. That’s a crazy amount of walking. When comparing iPhone data, we’re finding that my step count is routinely 15% greater than Dave’s, even though we are together and do the same amount of walking. I have deduced that this means that Dave’s stride is about 15% longer than mine.

My feet need to go to sleep. Off to Osaka tomorrow!