Day three consisted of a trip to Kyoto! We loved it so much that we ended up going back on our last free day of the trip! Kyoto is about a 30 minute train ride northeast of Osaka. When we got off the train we saw lots of children on school field trips. They all wear yellow hats to not only make it easy to see them but also to protect themselves from the sun and heat.
Kyoto has hundreds of temples. We visited two or three of the most well known ones.
This is a spring that was at one of the temples. The water comes from inside the mountain. You can use the cups to take a drink from the spring.
While walking through one of the temples, we ran into some women dressed in their kimonos. Most every woman has a traditional kimono that they wear for special occasions and for when they go to temple. These women were nice enough to take a picture with us. They wanted one with their cameras too!
We also saw some young boys on their way to temple in their traditional wear as well.
All I have to say is that I have so much respect for these guys! It is so hot outside and they take people up very steep hills. Wow!
We stopped for lunch at another one of our professor's favorite spots! I had cold soba noodles and shrimp tempura. It was soooo good! You take the noodles and dip them in the sauce and green onions. It was definitely one of my favorite meals!
To top it off we stopped for some green tea ice cream! Yum! It was very light and refreshing!
Next we headed over to Nijo Castle. It was very ornate and beautiful! We were not allowed to take picture inside but I got some of the grounds.
This is the moat that surrounds the castle.
Once we left the castle we headed to a traditional tea ceremony and performance. This was the bus we had to get on in order to get there. Words can not express how crowded this bus was! At one point I started to panic because no one was getting off! Ahhh!
Once we finally emerged from the insanely crowded bus it was time for the tea ceremony.
They chose two volunteers to participate in the ceremony. Katy from our group got chosen! She said that when it came time for her to drink the tea, it was piping hot and she burned her tongue! Ouch!
After the tea ceremony, they performed a variety of traditional acts. It was all very beautiful!
I just realized how much we crammed into one day! There was so much to see and do in Kyoto! The next day we packed up and headed to Hiroshima for three days. :)
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