7/4 Independence Day - Kyoto & Osaka

July 4^th, Independence day. This is our one free day in Japan. A bunch of us have decided to go to Kyoto with Keiko. We took the train to Kyoto and arrived at the new, modern station. There is a shopping mall built around the station and it has an observation deck on the roof. We went up to the roof to see all of Kyoto laid out before us ending, in the distance, in lush forest.

 

 

 

We purchased an all day bus ticket and headed out to our first temple of the day. The Ryōan-ji Temple which has beautiful gardens and a famous Zen rock garden.

Keiko on Temple Steps

Our next temple was Kinkaku-ji, also known as the Golden Temple.

 The next little trip was a real surprise. After a train and bus ride we arrived at Kibune. This is a beautiful little village up in the hills. It is famous for its ryokan, restaurants built on platforms over the river which face out on to beautiful waterfalls. Her you can eat noodles which float by you in a bamboo bordered stainless steel chute. Hard to explain. You’ll have to see the movie!(Catching Lunch ..) it follows this post.

 

 

 

 

 

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You can tie your wishes to a bamboo

You can tie them to a rack

or you can float them in the water

 

After enjoying the shrine we went into Osaka to the Dotumburi district. It was pouring with rain. We enjoyed the street with hundreds of restaurants and crazy signs. There was a fugu restaurant with a giant puffer fish sign hanging outside. We were heading for another food treat –Okonomiyaki. These are pancakes made with a batter and filled with greens, and a variety of meats and fish. You choose. There are two styles. We had the Hiroshima style. This means that the pancake is cooked in layers, rather than having all the ingredients mixed together.The cooking is done on a teppanyaki table while diners sit around the chefs at the bar which is, like the teppanyaki table, heated. DON”T PUT YOUR ELBOWS ON THE TABLE! The pancakes are served on the bar and eaten with a little shovel shaped spatula. See it done at Okonomiyaki

Courtesy of Aimee Welch

Courtesy of Aimee Welch

 

 

Thus ended our last full day in Japan