Sightseeing

Last Sunday we discovered some of Kyotos most famous places. With Shiho and Tao we took our bikes and started our trip by going to see Daitokuji temple (well actually Tao overslept and joined us at the next stop :)). In Daitokuji it was not allowed to take photos inside the 600-years-old house and garden but the place is my number one at the moment! The stone garden, nightingale floors and painted fusumas felt so special with the old age. It was one of the first buildings to have the white paper sliding doors in Japan! The area is covered with many many temples but this time we only did this most famous one.

At the gate to the temple.

Shiho was the great tour guide :)

Women wearing the traditional clothes at the temple area.

Daitokuji area.

The next stop was the Kinkakuji temple. Here Tao joined us. The golden pavillion looked so beautiful against the green nature behind it. There is something beautiful and harsh in the bilding at the same time. The colour is so strong and dominant but on the other hand it is real gold :)

Golden pavillion.

Beautiful "islands" in front of the pavillion.

From the upper level the building blends so beautifully into the trees that are slowly turning into their autumn colours.

Islands.

Shiho and the pavillion. The first floor is wood and white but the two upper levels all all covered with gold.

Me :)

Beautiful structures at the temple area.

After Kinkakuji we went to have lunch to a restaurant near by. This was my first time to try soba noodles in Kyoto. Everything here tastes so good!

Enjoying the food :)

Classical inteiors.

After lunch we headed to our last stop to Ryoanji temple. The place is famous for its stone garden. This is one of the places that would be so interesting to see in different seasons and to see how the atmosphere of the garden changes.

Map of the area.

Great nature.

The maple leaves are so tiny here! And I love all the different ponds with the sound of flowing water.

Beautiful bamboo fences.

View to the large space with classical Japanese sliding doors and tatamis.

The stone garden.

The stone garden.

The stone garden.

The stone garden.

The most beautiful fountain which also is in my new blog banner.

There are so much to see here! I'm going crazy trying to see everything as fast as possible and same time manage with all the schoolwork :) But luckily I still have a lot of time!