Osaka, May 3rd, 2019: It's already 8:30am and there's no time to hang out. Direction to the station at 15mn from our Airbnb to take a train from the JR Kyoto Line to Kyoto. It cost us 560 yen ($5 / 4.35€) for a ride of just 30 minutes.
We are in advance for our rendez-vous with 
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Unfortunately, we are not the only ones who had the same idea! Nothing to do with the first time I came 11 years ago now, at that time, I had the feeling at each temple visit that I was alone. The entrance fee is 400 yen ($3.65 / 3.1€).
the Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺, Temple of the Golden Pavilion) is part of the World Heritage Site (from the UNESCO) and has a quite singular history. During the civil war between 1467 and 1477 all the buildings in the complex were burned except the Kinkaku-ji and in 1950 a 22 years old monk burned it involuntarily while trying to end his life. As usual in Japan, it was rebuilt to the original in 1955. The care they take in each rebuild/renovation, both in the visual aspect and in the materials used to respect the original, is impressive!
As often in Japan, the temple is wonderful but the panorama is as well and to walk in such a landscape is a pure delight. The care is not only in the details of the constructions but also in the way they are cutting the trees, spread the flowers and plants, in the choices of colors etc... The time spent on the maintenance of such gardens must be enormous! Japanese garden philosophy is truly an amazing art.
It was already past noon and our stomachs were starting to feel deeply empty so we went looking for a good place to eat.
After a good walk and the desire to eat becoming more and more pressing we stopped in front of a restaurant of banal aspect. It was a great stroke of luck because the dishes were succulent and the presentation was extremely meticulous and not banal.
Our stomachs well filled we were finally ready to continue our day of discovery of the beauties of Kyoto (especially for my wife and my sisters). We then took the way to our 2nd visit of the day, which was the Ryōan-ji (竜安寺), a site from the 11th century with an entrance fee at 500 yen ($4.6 / 3.9€). It will take us only a few minutes to get there, the place is not very far from the Kinkaku-ji.
The entrance immediately puts in condition, it's for me one or better the most beautiful gardens of Kyoto. When you're lucky enough to be almost alone, spending a few hours there is pure happiness. Walking through its alleys and being amazed at every crossing is a real pleasure!
The place is especially known for its Japanese Zen garden and its fifteen stones of different sizes. During my first visit 11 years ago I was told this story: This garden represents the universe and when contemplating it, it's impossible to see all the fifteen stones at the same time, impossible except from one specific place that only the shogun knew. This is supposed to represent the fact that it's only possible to contemplate the beauty and perfection of the universe by attaining enlightenment.
The end of the afternoon was approaching and we decided to go to the Gion district. Being in the west and Gion being in the east, we decided to take the subway to get there. Once again we were not the only ones who had this idea, I think we were discreetly followed by all the Kyoto tourists 😂
Luckily, by passing through the small streets we managed to lose them for a while, allowing us to enjoy this typical place full of nostalgy of an old Japan.
After wandering in the streets of Gion we decided to go to the Yasaka Shrine (八坂神社) in the Gion District (originally built in 656). Big chance, a Matsuri (Japanese festival) was taking place there with lots of food and other stands. Not so lucky, it seems that many people knew about it 😂
The sun being tired of seeing us started to go away marking the end of this long and beautiful day. We will have done a lot today and it's with heavy legs that we take the direction of the Kyoto Station with sparkles in our eyes.
The night had already fallen when we arrived in Osaka and we just had the strength to go to the restaurant for dinner before going back to bed at our Airbnb.
I hope to have succeeded in making you travel a little through the story of this wonderful day spent in Kyoto. Feel free to watch the short video below of this memorable day 😉
Previously
[JAPAN 2019 | ep.1] Phuket - Dotonburi, Namba in Osaka (EN/FR)
[JAPAN 2019 | ep.2] Osaka Castle
[JAPAN 2019 | ep.3] Osaka - ⛩️ Sumiyoshi-Taisha ⛩️
[JAPAN 2019 | ep.4] The beauty of Kyoto 💮 Walking Through Higashiyama
[JAPAN 2019 | ep.5] 🏯 A walking day in Kyoto 🎎
[JAPAN 2019 | ep.6] The natural forest of bamboo 🎋🎍, Kyoto 🎎