Several days in Kyoto

20 June

Kyoto

We reached Kyoto in the afternoon.

A wet street lined with low shopfronts under a long green-roofed arcade, with apartment buildings above and construction hoarding on the left, under a grey sky. — Kyoto, 20 June.

Seared cubes of beef glazed with sauce on a blue-and-orange patterned porcelain plate. — Kyoto, 20 June.

21 June

Kyoto

In the morning we walked through the grounds of the Imperial Palace. In the afternoon we went to Kinkaku-ji.

Looking through a large vermilion-painted wooden gate, its thick columns and open doors framing a wide gravel courtyard and a long hall beyond. — Kyoto Imperial Palace, 21 June.

A garden pond with an arched wooden bridge, moss-covered rocks, clipped pines and a large tree trunk in the foreground. — Kyoto Imperial Palace, 21 June.

22 June

Kyoto

We spent the morning in Arashiyama: the bamboo grove, a small shrine, and gardens on the hillside. Around midday we were down by the river.

The bamboo grove and the surrounding area were my favourite part of Kyoto. It was not too crowded, the weather was good, and I enjoyed spending time among the trees.

A crowded path running between tall bamboo groves and brushwood fences, with the back of a person’s head in the foreground. — Arashiyama, Kyoto, 22 June.

A wide river flowing over a low weir, with rocks on the near bank and a tree-lined far bank with low buildings below a forested hill, under a pale sky. — Arashiyama, Kyoto, 22 June.