Day 10 - Saturday April 29, 2017 -

Today is Showa Day, the first day of Golden Week. We took the subway up to Kiatoji and then the bus to Daitokuji, an enclosed (walled) complex of some 20+ temples. Most of the temples are not open to the public though a few are, and several also open for short periods at certain times of the year. We’ve been here before and no matter how many or how few temples you visit, it’s a very pleasant place for a stroll.

We got there about 9 am, at which time it was very quiet though by the time we left about 11, there were a lot more people around (though still not much in the way of crowds). Kinkaku-ji – the Golden Temple – is further to the west from Daitoku-ji and I suspect was probably already standing room only. We visited there the first time we were in Kyoto so don’t feel the need to re-visit it, given the crowds that it attracts.

After visiting three of the temples, Zuiho-in, Korin-in and Koto-in (really to see the gardens) we headed back to the subway, getting off at Shijo. After a quick wander round the basement food hall at Daimyru, a quick snack at the Nishiki Market and a coffee at Starbucks, we headed down to Kyoto Station to go to one of the ramen restaurants. They were generally pretty busy, so we had to wait for 20 minutes or so before getting our ramen fix.

Daitokuji