Day 5 Walking path of samurai in Kyoto

Kyoto is the old capital of Japan before the present day Edo/Tokyo. I had read so much about the end days of the Shogunate era before the Meiji restoration (thanks to the game Hakuoki) that it was with a certain sense of trepidation that I arrived in Kyoto.

Our first stop was to head towards the Higashiyama ward. We took our first public bus there (either no. 201 or 206) and was pleasantly surprised to have one of the passengers ask if I was Singaporean. Apparently she was also visiting free and easy. It is so easy to identify ourselves overseas!

We alighted at the stop bound for Kiyomizu Temple and then took the sloping path leading up to the temple at the top. This seemed to be a hotspot for the locals as we saw many ladies donning their yukatas, accompanied by their partners in the path leading to the temple and in premises itself.

Kiyomizu Temple is famed for its picturesque scenery in autumn with its fiery red maple leaves and very well conserved historical buildings. After visiting the temple, we went back down via another route, this time one very busy with people and souvenir shops.

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Scenes from Kiyomizu Temple

Following the directions of a guide book, we turned right down the steps midway down the slope which led us towards Kodai-ji and subsequently to Maruyama Park. It was a very pleasant, scenic and experiential walk in Kyoto, highly recommended.

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Walking down memory lane in the time of maikos, samurais and kabukis

Exiting the park, we got onto the main street and took a subway line westwards to Omiya to find the resting and memorial place of the Shinsengumi at Mibu-dera Temple. The Shinsengumi were based in Kyoto and shot to fame during their short stint here. Alas it was a short lived fame and well basically wrong timing at the turn of the era.

The temple was a relatively long walk from the station and it took awhile to locate the graves as they are housed in a separate enclosure. Here I saw a bust of Kondo Isami and bought a memorabilia from the visitor centre. It felt so surreal having walked the grounds of real people I have read about.

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Mibu-dera Temple - resting and memorial for Shinsengumi

Our final stop at Kyoto is the Toy R Us back near Kyoto station. It is a rather big store with two levels next to Aeon Mall. Selection is wider but it seems that Japan hardly carries any American branded toys specifically Hasbro. Suppose this is necessary to protect each country’s local market.

However it made the toy hunting experience rather miserable for the children who are more exposed to US brands though it was rather a mecca experience for me. I have become officially otaku.

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