Kyoto revisited

We fell in love with Kyoto when we first visited last spring. Fortunately, M (who has been studying Kyoto in school) requested a return trip before we move!

Her main goal was to visit the bamboo forest (Arashiyama is the famous one). I was a little skeptical, since there's bamboo everywhere in Japan and we've hiked through several forests… this place sounded gimmicky to me, and I expected it to be a tourist trap.

So, when I found out that the Kyoto Botanical Gardens had a bamboo forest I decided to try there first.

We saw tons of beautiful flowers and so much greenery, but barely any bamboo.

Kyoto Botanical Gardens

Not too far from the Botanical Gardens lies the iconic *golden* pavilion (Kinkaku-ji) at the Rokuon Zen Buddhist Temple. It has been on my list of places to visit ever since arriving in Japan, so we headed there next.

The original building was erected as a villa for an aristocrat, but it was purchased by a shōgun in 1397 and subsequently covered in gold leaf. The complex (by then a Zen Buddhist temple) was destroyed during a war in the 1400s, but the pavilion was spared and stayed standing for over 500 years. Unfortunately it was burned down by a mentally ill monk in the 1950s. It was rebuilt with precision and is now a World Heritage Site and also one of 17 “Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto”.

It's only 3 stories but it seems larger than life, no matter the vantage point. It's truly breathtaking.

Kinkoku-ji!

We wrapped up the day with shopping, a delicious dinner, and of course, a trip to the onsen (our hotel had a great one that featured natural hot spring water pumped from underground to the baths on the 13th floor).

On Sunday we set our sights on the big bamboo forest and after breakfast (and another visit to the onsen) we trained our way to the outskirts of the city.

It was certainly crowded with tourists, but still a pretty magical place.

The bamboo forest, with 5000 of our closest friends 😅

From there we walked through the narrow back roads of Saga Toriimoto, a village of buildings preserved from the Meiji era.

The quite streets of Sagatoriimoto

After a fairly long and mostly uphill walk, we arrived at another temple…this one was founded in the 8th century, so no gold here! (There were lots of mosses though…)

The highlight of this temple comes from a fairly recent chief monk who was also a sculptor. In 1981 “everyday people” began making pilgrimages to learn carving from him, and with their help he quickly covered the hillside with 1200 statues, in all manner of expressions.

Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple

It's hard to believe that all of this is part of a giant city, but Kyoto clearly prioritizes beauty… there are so many parks and green spaces, old style buildings, and artful elements.

The kids especially loved all of the nature space

We even found an artisan ice cream shop that made “ice bouquets”, as well as a cotton candy shop with matcha, sakura, and black soybean flavors.

Sweet art

We're so grateful to have the opportunity to visit one last time, but then again we may still find away to return in the future…

P.S. Happy Mother's Day to my mom, stepmother and mother-in-law, who are all loyal readers of this blog and loyal supporters in everything I do 💜💜💜

Also, Happy Military Spouse Appreciation Day to all of my fellow milspouses who are always exploring, adapting, AND holding down the fort. You amaze me!

Being a mom is a serious challenge — one of the hardest things I've ever done (and continue to do!) — but also such a magnificent adventure.

Being a military spouse is the same. 👆

And I'm so honored to be among both!