A free day today so half a dozen of us set off together for a day's sightseeing. A couple of brollies were bought so the rain eased off immediately as we started to do the "philosophers walk", a very pleasant stroll along a cherry tree bordered stream.The blossom is just starting to come out so we were blessed although it is very cold. Thankfully there were a few proper crafty shops to investigate along the mile or so walk to warm us up. At the end was a massive gate to a temple built in the 1600's and the remains of a canal boat incline that was built late in the 19th century as part of a canal network in Kyoto. We took a bus back into the city to visit the fish market where you can sample the wares and buy small portions for about a £1 each which was our lunch. We tried the duck kebabs,eel,scallops and a fish cake on a stick.We then went to a tea ceremony for an hour and we both decided that powdered green tea was an acquired taste but it was very informative about the ceremony itself. To finish off the sightseeing we joined a guided evening tour of the geisha district which was fascinating and we began to understand a concept that is very alien to our society. We even had the good fortune to see half a dozen of the girls/ladies as they scuttled by which our guide said was lucky as some evenings she doesn't see a single one.