Travelling Photographer

Started the day at Arashimaya Bamboo Forest located in the village of Sagano in Kyoto– and with a rickshaw ride among its soaring stalks of bamboo was other worldly but it was a fun experience. Also, a highlight of the area is the Togetsukyo Bridge, which is 155 meters built across the Katsura River, a well-known place of scenic beauty – so they say.

Our next stop was the Golden Pavilion, or Kinkaku-ji, whose top floors are completely covered in gold leaf. This is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto. It is designated as a world heritage site and one of the 17 historic monuments of Kyoto. The temple was a retirement villa of a shogun.

On to a Tea Ceremony instruction and our hands-on effort to learn the style and significance.

From the Tea Ceremony and lunch, we headed to the Todaiji Temple (The great eastern Temple), a Buddhist Temple complex in Nara and one of the powerful 7 great temples. It was started in 728 and finished in 1709. The main hall (Big Buddha Hall) houses one of Japan’s largest bronze statues of a sitting Buddha at 15 meters tall. The south gate of the Temple is known as the Nanadaimon Gate and is guarded by two fierce-looking statues, which were completed in 60 days.

Dotonbori in Osaka for dinner. It is a canal-side entertainment district with restaurants, shops, small bars, and izakaya taverns. Area of sensory overload.