Another full day of activities in beautiful Kyoto with our fellow travellers for the week, Christophe & Barbs.

With a fair distance to be covered, we decided to go ‘premium class’ this morning and got an Uber to the Kinkaku-Ji, affectionately know as the Golden Pavilion.

We really struck it lucky with the weather, with a sunny, breezy day at 27c, not bad for mid-October. As a result of the warmer weather, Autumn hasn’t really started to make an imprint on the trees, with most still dark green and showing little sign of turning to the red tinge, we’d hoped to catch when we first arrived. Anyway what that meant was all the nature in and around the temple was a vivid green with bright clear skies and a toned moss colour on the forest floor.

The Golden Pavilion is one of Kyoto’s most iconic and beautiful landmarks.

It’s a Zen Buddhist temple known for its stunning gold-leaf covered exterior. The pavilion’s top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf, with the surrounding gardens just as impressive, designed in the traditional Japanese strolling garden style.

We got some great photos of the pavilion reflecting brilliantly in the surrounding pond.

The architecture reflects a combination of three styles, shinden (palatial home) samurai residence and Zen temple design.

The temple was built in the 14th century as a retirement villa for a shogun, but post his death it was converted into a temple.

The scenic paths & gardens provided wonderful views of the temple inside and outside and its reflection on the Mirror Pond, adding to the overall serenity of the site.

After an enjoyable couple of hours strolling round, we jumped into another Uber and headed 15mins down the road to the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove.

Nestled in the Arashiyama district, it’s one of the most famous and picturesque natural bamboo sites in Japan.

The grove is a vast forest of towering bamboo stalks that seem to stretch endlessly upwards.

We walked along the winding paths and took in the Tenryu-ji Temple and the Togetsukyo Bridge, and scenic views of the Hozu River and surrounding mountains.

The bamboo forest was stunning and despite the crowds, it retained a tranquil ambience.

It’s a serene and otherworldly experience walking through the bamboo forest and taking in the nature.

After leaving the bamboo forest, we visited Tenryu-ji Temple, another beautiful complex of buildings and stunning Japanese traditional gardens laid out in the most precise and elegant shapes and forms.

As we made our way to the subway, we came across Jinrikisha or rickshaw, a two-wheeled passenger cart pulled by one person carrying one or two passengers. Pulled rickshaws have had a renaissance and are used as a popular form of transport in tourist areas in Japan. The guy we saw was super fit and in the heat of the day was sweating profusely.

Our next stop was Nijō Castle, a flatland castle in central Kyoto. It consists of two concentric rings of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens. In the sunshine it looked even more impressive helped by the reflections of the buildings in the water of the moat.

We walked around the castle for an hour or so, but in the heat, and after a large amount of culture and architecture we were all a little fatigued.

After an enjoyable day touring around the sights of the city, the evening was spent in a more relaxed way at a Soba restaurant close to the hotel.

Soba noodles are really good for your health because they are gluten-free, high in flavonoids, and help balance your blood sugar.

This was all helped down with a couple of great IPA’s and some fantastic fried chicken. The best way to finish a day.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Kyoto, so we are heading to philosopher’s path and the next door Ginkaku-ji shrine, then on to Kiyomizu-dera temple & finally the notorious Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine in the early evening.