We got an early start today, meeting for breakfast at 8:00am downstairs at the Moxy Hotel. As expected, it was the least impressive breakfast we’ve had so far on this trip, but it gave us enough energy to get moving.

We walked from the hotel to Nijo Castle, which is nearby. I had bought “Castle Admission” tickets online ahead of time, but it turns out those only allow access to the gardens, not the castle itself. Very confusing. Still, the gardens were beautiful, and we took our time exploring before hopping on a bus to the Golden Pavilion.

This was the one sight I was most excited to see in Japan, and it absolutely did not disappoint. For the first time since we arrived, we had blue skies, and the gold of the pavilion shimmering on the pond was stunning. It was packed with tourists, being a Sunday, but even with the crowds it was incredible. I can only imagine how magical it would feel to see it in peace and quiet.

To save time, we took a taxi to Kodaiji Temple next. We saw the massive Buddha statue, the temple buildings, and a small bamboo forest up in the hills behind it. We decided to visit this one instead of the more famous Arashiyama Bamboo Forest since everything I read online said that one is unbelievably crowded. This smaller one was perfect.

We grabbed lunch at a small café on the main street near the temple, and it ended up being excellent. Afterward, we took a bus over to Fushimi Inari to see the red gates.

This was easily the most touristy place we’ve been since arriving in Japan. There are thousands of bright red gates lined up, but there are also what feels like millions of people trying to take photos. It was nearly impossible to move freely, and after reading that these gates aren’t actually that old and can even be purchased and installed today, it lost a bit of its charm for me.

From there we went straight to the Nishiki Market area for our tea ceremony and kimono experience. There was a bit of a mix-up when we arrived since they had us down for the wrong date, so we had to wait a little while. Thankfully they were kind enough to fit us in at the last minute.

We ended up having a private tea ceremony for just the four of us, followed by a short photo session in our kimonos. It was a really nice experience and a memorable way to wrap up our time in Kyoto.

After the ceremony, Bart and Ale went back to the hotel, while Vivi and I walked around the market for a bit before heading back as well. We used the dinner vouchers the hotel had given us to eat at the Moxy that night. It definitely wasn’t the best meal of the trip, but it did the job.

We were back in the room around 8:30pm and went downstairs to do some laundry before packing up for tomorrow. Vivi and I have two hotel site inspections scheduled in Kyoto in the morning, so we wanted to be organized before bed.