Friday October 10th

Today was to be our last full day in Kyoto. We decided against an early start, sleeping in a bit (OK only until 7:30, but still more than we have been!) we were planning for visits to some touristy places and had just accepted that there was no beating the crowds.

Kyoto City Hall. Just steps from our hotel and between the hotel and the subway.

We headed out to the subway, making a quick stop for coffee and a pastry along the way. We took the subway out to the end of the line, then switched to a tram to get out to Arashiyama. This is one of the must see areas of Kyoto, know for its bamboo forest, shrines and boat rides on the river.

We knew the forest was going to be crazy, so we tried to change the game plan a bit. We grabbed a taxi to take us up to Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple. We thought we’d start there, at the top of the hill then work our way back down to the main area of Arashiyama. It actually worked out pretty well.

The taxi drove us up hill, through narrow, winding streets filled with tourists walking up (and down) from where we were headed. It was crazy how busy it was. But the taxi ride up had been a good call. It dropped us out front of the temple gates and we headed inside.

A view of the temple grounds from up the hill. It does not do it justice, but you get a sense of the place.

Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple, was an absolute delight and a true highlight of the whole trip. Its history is a little rougher than the grand temples in the city center. It was originally founded by Empress Kōken in the 8th century, but due to repeated floods and typhoons, it was moved several times before settling in this location in 1922. The architecture is charmingly rustic, reflecting its age and remote location.

In some sections of the temple there were rows of statues.

One of the small shrines.

With Justine, for a sense of scale.

A torii gate in front of a small shrine.

IN places they go all the way up the hill.

There was lots to explore, but this bridge didn’t really lead anywhere.

A couple of different views looking down on the temple grounds, from up on the hill.

Inside the main temple was quite extravagant.

What makes this place truly unique are the thousands of rakan statues (disciples of Buddha) scattered across the grounds. There are over twelve hundred of them, and I loved that each one was completely unique. They were carved by amateur sculptors, primarily under the guidance of the head priest Kocho Nishimura between 1981 and 1991. As we walked among them, there were statues laughing, singing, drinking, and meditating—some wearing glasses or even holding tennis rackets! This dedication to carving thousands of unique, often humorous, made the place wonderfully whimsical.This temple ended up being a highlight for me.

The regular buildings around the temple were beautiful as well, but the little statues really make the place unique. It was busy inside, but manageable. We spent much longer in this temple that any other. It really captivated us and there were so many statues to look at, so many unique details. In reflecting on the history, you’d think the statues had been there since the 8th century, not the 1980s.

After exploring for a while, we headed out and worked our way downhill towards the next temple, Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple. Along the way, we passed through a little village filled with old houses, with thatched roofs and traditional Japanese architecture. They were just stunning.

The little village had some beautiful house, along this small road coming down out of the mountains.

This was the first time we had really seen thatched roofs in any numbers. They were beautiful.

It was a tiny little street through the village.

Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple was another smaller temple, similar to the one we had just been at. But rather than sculptures of people, it was full of carved memorial statues. As it was associated with a large cemetery it made sense. It was a very serene place to wander.

A closer look at the small statue that were everywhere at the site.

Historically, this location was a site where people left the remains of the dead, exposed to the elements. The great monk Kūkai started building memorials here in the 9th century to honor the spirits. The main temple buildings are simple and beautiful, reflecting a deep respect for the cycle of life and death.The architectural focus here isn't on the buildings themselves, but on the landscape and the thousands of small stone hōtō and sekibutsu (stelae and stone Buddhas) that fill the grounds. These monuments are gathered from the hillsides where they served as memorials for centuries. Seeing the countless stone statues arranged in perfect, dense rows, symbolizing the souls of the departed, was beautiful.

Furthermore, we were pleased to discover a small, quiet bamboo grove on the temple grounds—a wonderfully peaceful alternative to the busy main forest—which added a final touch to this sacred spot. It wasn’t huge like the tourist attraction down the hill, but they had some massive bamboo and you could enjoy the serenity a little better as the crowds were more manageable. But there were still people with their self sticks and tripods filming themselves for social media.

From there we continued down the hill back towards the main area of town. The was one last temple, Seiryōji (Saga Shakadō) Temple, that was pretty much ignored by the tourists. It was very quiet, except for the drummer inside the temple, which was quite cool.

After the peacefulness of the last temple, we headed into the throngs of tourists and towards the bamboo forest. We only got a few hundred meters into the forest before we gave up. It was just insane, and having just been in a (admittedly much smaller) bamboo forest, it just was not worth the hassle.

So we headed back out and went looking for a place to have some lunch. There was a wagyu steak place that we noted, so we put our name on the list. The wait wasn’t too long, and the food looked amazing.

This was the first time for us trying wagu beef! And let me say, it lived up to the hype! It was delicious and really does almost melt in your mouth. Lunch came with a whole assortment of accompanying dishes, all designed to complement the beef. We were very happy and full at the end of lunch.

We were a bit surprised that the steaks were breaded cutlets.

You did your own cooking on these little hotplates.

And boy was it delicious!

I got the wagyu and Justine got a sirloin. Mine was significantly better. We both should have upgraded!

The other thing we wanted to try was the “romantic train”, an old train that runs from Arashiyama up into the mountains. It looked interesting, so we walked up to the station to see if there were tickets. The next available train was not until 4:00 (still two hours out) so we decided against it.

Looking out over the river that flows through Arashiyama.

One of the other options were boat trips down the river. We looked at it, but decided against it in the end.

As the main train station was right there, we decided to instead try our luck with Kinkaku-ji, or the Golden Temple. It was a short train and bus ride away, but we were worried about the crowds as it was just after 1:30 pm. And we were right to be worried.

Walking up towards the temple it didn’t seem too bad.

While there were quite a few people in line to buy tickets to get in, it was only once we were inside that the ridiculous nature of the place was exposed. Let’s get this out of the way - the temple is gorgeous. Probably the most beautiful one we have seen. And they do a good job of routing people so that all the photos you take of this amazing place look people-free. But the reality is that you’re herded through, following a one way path that is just wall to wall people. It’s really not a pleasant experience and you cannot really appreciate the place.

Once inside and walking towards Kinkaku-ji (officially Rokuon-ji), you are immediately struck by its sheer opulence. The temple, which is actually a relic hall, stands proudly beside a reflecting pond, and its history is extensive. Originally, it was the retirement villa of the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, built at the end of the 14th century. After his death, it was converted into a Zen temple, fulfilling his wishes.The architecture is stunning and reflects the period's diverse tastes. It features three distinct architectural styles, one layered on top of the other. The ground floor is in the elegant Shinden style of residential palace architecture; the second is in the Buke (Samurai House) style; and the top third floor is the classic Zen style. Most spectacularly, the top two stories are completely covered in gold leaf. This one is a brilliant reconstruction—the original was tragically burned down in 1950 —its golden glow, shimmering perfectly on the water of the Kyōkochi (Mirror Pond), made it the most visually stunning building of our visit. But the crowds were unbearable. We got our photos and got out. It’s really a shame, as it is beautiful. But we could not deal with the crowds and it was time to go.

We headed away from the temple and grabbed a city bus that took us back to the hotel. We needed some time to relax and chill out. We both had a short nap and got ready for our last night in Kyoto!

The first part of our evening was to walk back over to the covered markets. We needed an additional suitcase for the trip home, as we were a bit overloaded with our new purchases. We were also looking for a few items for people. We ended up being successful on all accounts, picked up the things we needed and headed back to the hotel to drop them off.

From there we got ourselves sorted to head out for dinner. We once again grabbed a bus to take us over to Gion, and then walked back to Pontocho Alley to find a restaurant. We ended up in a nice spot, picking a wagu steak place that had a nice patio overlooking the river. Justine order the wagu as a shabu shabu (you cook you steak in a boiling broth) and mine came with a hot stone that I cooked my steak on. It was all very delicious, and a great way to end our time in Kyoto.

After dinner, we continued down the alley. We found a different little bar and stopped for a drink. Justine had a beer and I tried a different Japanese whiskey. Sadly, the smoking issue came up again, so we called it after one drink.

The rest of the walk home was uneventful, but we did come across a liquor store, and I was able to pick up a bottle of Japanese whiskey to take home. We got back to the hotel and packed, as we were planning an early start. We moved some things between the (now) three suitcases and got generally organized.

Much as the day started, it ended with us walking home past City Hall.

I decide to head down to the bath house and enjoy one last onsen for the trip.

Daily Step Count: 20,648