Arriving at the foot of the mountains on the edge of the city and Ginkaku-ji (The Silver Pavilion) we found a renewed sense of energy for the afternoon. Yes we had visited this site previously but enjoyed it all over again. The moss-carpet slopes, raked gravel, meandering streams and views over the city coupled with a zen representation of Mount Fuji make for the perfect temple combo.
Exiting the gardens and after a bit of souvenir shopping, we turned South and strolled back along another favourite haunt – the Philosopher’s Walk. This pathway follows a small canal lined with shops and cafes. Despite the ever-threatening rainclouds we enjoyed mooching along spotting huge carp in the canal and watching people jostling to pose in front of the last few blossom trees. We were pleasantly surprised to happen upon a small pottery studio advertising on-the-spot workshops. Having enjoyed learning this skill with a friend when we lived here, I opted to document George’s attempt – annoyingly good of course! We anticipate the arrival of his cup in the coming weeks – fingers crossed it survives the kiln.
By now the rain had set in again and despite raincoats we were quickly drenched. Increasing our pace we took shelter under in a huge temple gate (Nanzen-ji) and actually found it rewardingly atmospheric to watch the rain from within the bright green canopy of maple trees. A woman dressed in a kimono (clearly intending to capture some cherry blossom shots) was making the most of the downpour too.
Making a break for it we walked another few kilometres to the district of Gion, a block of traditional streets flanked with wooden buildings and filled with restaurants and geisha houses. If you are going to capture a glimpse of a geisha, this is the place – no such luck for us today as it was heaving with Saturday night crowds. We began the task of searching out dinner but after several laps of the block we settled for ramen (again) and a well-earned beer.
Proud statistic of the day: final steps count of 35,259. I wonder how much curry rice that amounts to?
The Geos go back to Tokyo 