Kyoto, Day 10 - No Sushi For You

Today we took a train and then a cab to the Golden Pavilion, Kinkaku-ji. I don't know why, but I wasn't crazy excited about seeing the Golden Pavilion. But as soon as I laid eyes on it, I was glad we made the trip. It's very serene and surrounded by beautiful grounds.

Afterwards, we were on the hunt for lunch. A few blocks from the Kinkaku-ji entrance, we saw a huge restaurant called Volks that looked like an American diner. We couldn't resist an Asian diner. Plus, their logo looked a little like In-N-Out's, so I think positive association kicked in a little.

When we first stepped inside, I noticed there was a salad bar. Sold! I'm a Midwestern girl, and consider myself a salad bar connoisseur, so this was very exciting for me. Much more exciting than my anticipation of Kinkaku-ji.

A proud helping of salad bar any Midwesterner would be pleased with. The Japanese know how to do a mean potato salad.

Okay, the food wasn't spectacular, but we weren't expecting it to be (though the salad bar was excellent). Eating at a place like that in the middle of Japan, I felt like I was in a David Lynch film. A little person could've wandered in at any second and I wouldn't have batted an eye.

I had black curry, which was rich and tasty. Very comforting.

Hubs had sausages and hamburger steak (Salisbury steak). On a cow!

There were even forks and knives. Surreal. Two meals + salad bar = 2300 Y.

We took a cab back to the subway (1600 Y) and went to Tofuku-ji. Tofuku-ji has lovely grounds filled with streams and a grand wooden bridge.

I don't know if spring is the best time to visit Tofuku-ji. Unfortunately, it doesn't have many cherry blossoms, and the trees were all barren. It was still lovely, but I think summer or fall would be better. Though, hardly anyone was there, so we did feel isolated, not a common feeling in a public place in Kyoto during cherry blossom season. Lots of pretty bird songs being sung and no human voices to compete with.

In a corner of the grounds was this magnificent pavilion. The stones were cultivated to look like a chess board.

We left Tofuku-ji and walked down the street to the Fushimi-Ihori shrine. This turned out to be my favorite site we visited in Kyoto.

The Road Not Taken

There is a two mile long trail that circles up the hill and around the grounds. The entire trail is arched with orange torii, wooden markers with engraved dedications.

The trail has a lot of stairs, so be ready for a workout.

Along the trail, a number of graveyards extend in narrow passageways, lined with shrines and statues of foxes. We were there in the late afternoon, an overcast day, the sun low in the sky. The graveyards were empty and eerie in the silence and grayness of the darkening sky.

The hike to the top of the hill was a little spooky, despite the birds chirping the whole way. I must admit, the trail felt a little haunted. I loved it.

View from the top.

We didn't want to leave, but since the sun was setting, we resigned and walked back down to the train. We consoled ourselves with a homemade ice cream cone which had a very strong soy flavor and wasn't as loved as the sesame cone from a few days ago.

We took the subway back to the Nijo Castle to eat dinner at the renowned Owariya restaurant. We walked in, the chef looked at us and said "no" in a manner that made us hastily turn around and leave without asking any questions. Shrug.

Prepared to spend a hefty load on our dinner at Owariya, we decided to go in the opposite direction, and settled into a table at a sort-of fast food type place that served a lot of rice and pork dishes.

The food wasn't spectacular, but it was cheap, hot, and filled us up. 2 meals = less than 900 Y.

On our way back to Tanaka-ya, a geisha was walking in front of us down, where else, Geisha Row.

She stopped and asked a store owner for directions. Even geishas ask for directions.