Day 11 - Saturday November 4, 2017 - Back To The Washi ….
Back to the Washi…
Posted on Saturday November 4, 2017
As the first washi store was closed yesterday, we headed back there this morning –
– though a stop at Starbucks first for coffee and to use the wi-fi before taking the subway two stops up to Shijo. Round the corner and up the street to the washi store, which fortunately was open. That done, we followed the same route as yesterday – through the Nishiki Market (which was relatively quiet as it was 10 am), up Terimachi-dori, right at the top, past the alleyway to the needle shop, then left up to City Hall.
From there, we got the Tozai subway line east to Higashiyama. Out of exit 1, turn left, immediately left again and follow it up, then along the canal to the large torii gate at the beginning of the approach to Heian-jingu. Quite a few people around, including a lot of families with young children, all dressed up — we’re not really sure why but it must be some important ‘milestone’ for the children as Heian-jingu is a major Shinto shrine. A-M was suddenly accosted by a group of young girls, who wanted to know where she was from, what Japanese food she liked etc. – they must have been doing some sort of exercise …. a few minutes later, a group of young boys came rushing up to me, with much the same questions.
Our primary reason for visiting Heian-jingu is to go for a walk in the garden. It generally is not very crowded and, though it’s not particularly spectacular (except in cherry blossom season when it will be absolutely heaving with people as it’s one of the main ‘viewing’ sites in Kyoto) it’s a very pleasant ‘stroll’ garden – and we know where the tea room is!
Having braved the stepping stones and managed to not fall in, it’s time for tea. The view from the tea house is very pleasant so it’s nice to just sit there and relax.
When we’ve been before, there have usually been a couple of wedding parties taking photos (as often as not on the covered bridge or a bit further on towards the exit) and today was no exception.
On the way up from the Higashiyama subway station, just before the canal starts, we’d noticed a restaurant that looked like it might be a good place for lunch so on our way back, we duly stopped. Excellent tempura – fresh, crisp and light and certainly the equal of what we had yesterday.
Lunch over, we headed back to the subway station and took the subway back down to Kyoto Station and then walked the short distance back to the apartment, stopping on the way for supplies. As we had a pretty good lunch, we probably won’t need much for supper so it will most likely be the get-your-ticket-at-the-machine place on the corner – cheap and cheerful but it does the job.