Day 8.15th May 2016. Sunday.

Another day in Kyoto . We woke up and headed down to breakfast. We meant to wake up early and try and catch the Aoi Matsuri festival at the Imperial Palace but we barely made it down in time for breakfast. The spread was sparse with a lot of Japanese food unless the giant amount of food we got used to at the Sheraton, but it was okay. Japanese style eggs, tempura, noodles, some weird looking puddings.

We quickly left to catch a bus to find a spot to watch the Aoi Matsuri festival somewhere on the street because we were a little late to catch it at the palace. We had the route with us, and after a quick stop at the vending machine (this became a habit), we were on the bus. It was really hot and the boys were already grumbling about all the walking. It was a short walk from the bus stop to the street where the parade was passing. I'm not sure if it was the heat or if they were just tired of so much culture, but the boys weren't impressed. The festival is on the three famous ones and happens every 15th of May . Since we were in Kyoto, on the 15th of May, it seemed sacrilegious to me not to watch some of it, even if the rest weren't as interested. The parade had tons of people dressed in the aristocratic style of the Heian period walking from the Imperial Palace to the Kamo Shrines. Once we had seen a few pass by, the boys wanted to be off, so we walked back to the bus stop to catch a bus to Kinkakuji.

From the bus stop, it was a short walk uphill to get to the entrance of the temple. On the way, of course there was an ice cream shop. Zane got the green tea flavour, didn't like it, got a vanilla and made me eat the green tea. Sigh. Then, when we got to the ticketing counters, there was a bit of a rush to get in. Godwin went and got the tickets for us, and somehow, he and Zane got separated from me, Zach and Grandma. I was a little apprehensive about how Zane would react to being away from me because he'd been real sticky glue this trip, so kept messaging Godwin to check where they were. While trying to enjoying the goldeness (I know that's not a word) of Kinkakuji.

So Kinkajuji. Its definitely a must-see and from the first view of it, you can see why. It's also very crowded, and security keeps prodding people to keep moving and not linger. Other than that, the grounds are lovely to stroll through. You can't actually go anywhere near the temple, just view it from afar. The reflecting image of the temple in the lake in front of it is pretty spectacular . The top two floors are covered in gold leaf. Its a zen temple built overlooking a lake, was burned down once and rebuilt again.

After we took the requisite pictures, we continuted on past the head priest's former living quarters which are no open to the public and then followed the path through the beautiful temple gardens where there are statues that people throw their coins at for luck. We waited here to find Godwin and Zane who eventually turned up. Then the boys wanted to try their luck at throwing the coins at the statues, and we took a few more pictures, now that we were all reunited.

Then, we walked along a path and came by a small temple hall where the boys wanted to ring the temple bell and then wanted to check their fortunes in the machine.We hunted for coins so we could get them their fortunes. Zane was too short and had to be carried. Then we met this Brisith guy who was so excited to see (Indian) Chelsea fans (they were wearing their jerseys) in Japan. He was also wearing a red jersey and said ah you're Manchester and he was horrified. Apparently he's a Sunderland fan, whatever that is. I am not a football geek. After that exchange, we walked ahead and met a Japanese Liverpool fan and had a quick chat with him. Oh, the universal binding forces of the Premier League.

Next, we walked back to the bus stop and took a bus to the Emmachi station to catch a local train to the Arashimaya Bamboo Forest. This was covered by our rail pass. We found a small cozy place to grab some lunch. We had to get off at the last stop and then walk to the bamboo forest. It was a weird path to get there, but all we had to do was follow the crowds (and use googlemaps on the phone). Godwin, as always, ran ahead to get some pictures, hopefully without too many people in them, while the boys, Grandma and I took our time. On the way, we found this place where the guy was making these weirdly designed candy floss in different colours. So, pitstop, Zach wanted some. Then we got to the lane to takes you into the forest, and I decided to stop and let Zane nap there for a while. We found some shops that sell snacks and ice-cream that had some wooden benches outside. While Zane napped in my lap, Zach enjoyed some ice-cream and then decided to explore the Bamboo forest with Godwin. Grandma, Zane and I sat and people watched (well, Zane was sleeping). It was interesting. There were mostly a lot of tourists from all over.

Once Zane woke up, he wanted to go explore. We had a nice time walking through the bamboo groves. We watched the train pass by twice. Godwin got some lovely shots of the sun setting through the bamboo. Soon it was time to make our way back to the train station. It was a pleasant walk as the sun set low in the sky. Zane saw a tiny doorway and said small people like elves or hobbits must live there, ha ha, so we took a picture of him standing in front of the door. Then, train to Kyoto Station (covered by the rail pass) where we stopped for dinner, and then took the bus back to the hotel. Kyoto tower looks lovely lit up at night.

Also, before I forget, Zane pretends to be a Jedi and crosses the road when the light is green with his arms outstretched saying his FORCE is keeping the cars from running us over. He also does this with automatic doors, arms outstretched and his FORCE opens the doors... Its cute. We stopped at the convenience stores outside the hotel and also used the vending machine in the lobby. Have I mentioned how much they love vending machines? Another day to another lovely day in Kyoto.

Coming up: Nara. Oh dear, that's a lot of deer!
Steps walked: 10,801