Day 7 - Wednesday April 26, 2017 - Kyoto
Today was designated as a “garden” day – the Bamboo Grove, Okochi Sanso, the garden at Heian-jingu and the Imperial Palace grounds. Unfortunately the forecast was for rain; it started out not too bad but then drizzled most of the day and became heavier after lunch, so by the time we got back about 3 pm we were a bit damp.
Arashiyama
We took a 7.53 am train to Saga Arashiyama. Previously, we visited Tenryu-ji on the way to the Bamboo Grove but as that doesn’t open until 9, we just went straight to the Grove so were there by about 8.20. Very few people around so we were able to enjoy it in peace and get some decent photos. We were up at the top of the Grove by about 8.40 but as Okochi Sanso doesn’t open until 9, we sat on some big stones and watched as various people came and went (including a couple taking wedding photos).
Okochi Sanso
The entrance to Okochi Sanso is at the top of the Bamboo Grove but, as the guidebooks point out, it is often overlooked by most visitors, either because they don’t know it is there (or what it is) or because they balk at the ¥1,000 entrance fee. The former villa of a deceased Japanese film star, it has an excellent ‘stroll garden’ and a delightful tea room (included in the price). The garden path winds up and around the hillside, past the old villa (not open to the public) before eventually ending up at the tea room. We had the place to ourselves until we got back to the tea room, by which time there were a few more visitors around. Green tea and an excellent biscuity thing, which we remember from our previous visit.
Heian-jingu
We took the train back to Kyoto and stopped in Starbucks for a coffee before taking the subway to Higashiyama and walking up to Heian-jingu. Although there was still a lot of cherry blossom on the trees, they were waaay past their best but the garden is a pleasant stroll at any time of year. Last time we were there, a wedding party was taking photos on the covered bridge; this time it was deserted, so we just bought some fish food and fed the carp.
Imperial Palace Grounds
We took the subway back from Higashiyama to Imadegawa and walked south through the Imperial Palace grounds. The rain persisted so we were getting increasingly damp but stopped long enough to visit the cafe for a “cake set”. The drink part was a help yourself job from the machine, so we both opted for a matcha latte.
When we were here last time, some of the cherry trees still had a fair amount of blossom, as they again did this time, so we stopped long enough to take some pictures before heading to the subway station to take the train the few stops to get back to the hotel (and out of the rain).
Dinner
For dinner, we again went to the ‘cafe’ place a few doors away. Having grappled with the Japanese-only ordering machine last night, we had a slightly easier time of it this time. We both had a tempura set, which was very good – and for ¥680 each, you can’t complain. The tempura – crisp and hot – was far better than the tempura lunch I had at the fancy Benesse Museum last Friday and one third of the price.