Japan is a beautiful country. We visited Kyoto sans kids in 2017 to celebrate our ten year anniversary. It was a really fun trip packed with oodles of walking. Kyoto, which was once the capital city of Japan is famous for its classical Buddhist temples, gardens, Shinto shrines and traditional wooden houses. This town steeped in history is also famous for shojin ryori (temple cuisine), kaiseki dining (traditional multi-course dining) and geisha, the female entertainers found in the Gion district of Kyoto.
Here are some photos of memorable sights from our trip, in line with the red theme of my blog.
Captured below is the famous Kiyomizu-dera temple that Kyoto is famous for. This is an independent Buddhist temple in Eastern Kyoto.
Also spotted near the temple was a beautiful shrine with idols dressed up in red cloth.
This is a photo of a car from Japan post. This car was parked outside Kiyomozi dera, a famous temple in Kyoto, Tokyo. There was a postcard store right by the car and you could write postcards and mail it. The car would take it to the post office for despatch!
This is a photo of the lovely Japanese women dressed up in a kimono, the traditional attire of Japan. Unlike most of Japan where kimonos are mainly worn for special occasions such as official holidays, Kyoto is one of the few cities where ladies donning kimonos can be still seen. They’re so colourful and elegant and look beautiful on the soft spoken Japanese women.
Two little girls dressed up in kimonos!
Japanese women posing with the traditional umbrella called wagasa. A lovely sight!
We visited in March when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.
Go around the city on a bicycle! Many women run their errands on a cycle. This is one of the local shops where you can hire a bike of your choice to explore Kyoto.
In Kyoto, if you’re lucky you might be able to spot a geisha. We managed to spot two maikos (trainee geishas) who were dressed up and leaving in a hand-pulled rickshaw. Geishas are Japanese women who entertain through performing the ancient traditions of art, dance and singing, and are distinctively characterised by their wearing of the kimono and oshiroi makeup.
We were lucky to sample Shojin Ryori, a traditional cuisine for Buddhist monks. Respecting the Buddhist philosophy, meat is not used, The food is prepared with seasonal fruits and herbs. Tenryu-ji is one of the most important Zen temples in Kyoto’s Arashimaya district. The name of the restaurant was Shigetsu.
While in the city, don’t forget to make a pit-stop at Mochi by MikiMiki 1689, a famous mochi store in Kyoto. Pale pink sakura mochi and warabi mochi arrive in early March and disappear with the end of the cherry blossom season. These spring specialties are available throughout Japan during the season and you get particularly elegantly designed versions in Kyoto.
{Photos by My Red Palette}