Quality time in Kyoto

Well before arriving in Kobe, we had seen a consistent rain forecast for the day after. Sure enough, when we woke up, it was raining indeed. We left our hotel with our rain jackets on, and didn't take them off anymore until we arrived in Kyoto... Our second full-day rain ride in Japan, 81 wet kms, although this one was not as bad as the very first day in Kyushu - at all. We cycled 30km from Kobe to Osaka through the rain, through the urban area, on feasible bike paths, and with not too much traffic around. We couldn't make any decent speed however, as we rode from traffic light to traffic light. After 2 hours we had done just over 20km, a bit frustrating when you're going through such rainy weather... Once in Osaka itself, we could switch to the riverside route. Not that extremely easy to find and no indications whatsoever, but once we were there we made much better progress on a fine cycling path. The only downside - except for the permanent rain of course - was that they had made sure no other vehicles than bicycles could pass, and they have done this so meticulously that even packed tour bikes could hardly pass... Every time we arrived at such barrier (and there were many) we had to dismount and lift the bicycles over. Ouch!

Breakfast in a 7 Eleven, sheltered from the rain...

Riding into Osaka

The bicycle path along the Yodo river

But once at the riverside path, we made much better progress, and by late afternoon we arrived at our wonderful guesthouse in Kyoto - Kyoto Compass Guesthouse - dripping wet and a bit cold, but happy! We had found this very nice place online after searching quite a while, and what a find it was! Beautiful old wooden house, nice traditional Japanese room, and super friendly people. We thoroughly enjoyed a hot shower, and then went for izakaya dinner. Izakaya is pub food, you have a beer or sake and order a few dishes to go along. Our guesthouse had recommended this place and even wrote down a few dishes to order, and we had a great evening. It was a very small and traditional place, with just 3 other guests - with whom we had a good time - and a fun owner who offered us a lot of extras at no charge!

Temple garden in Ginkakuji

Silver pavilion

Nanzenji temple

Massive wooden pillars

Good luck wishes at a small shrine

Yesterday we enjoyed a day in Kyoto. Kyoto is such a fascinating place! It's full of incredible heritage, it immerses you fully in Japanese culture, and you can fully feel and imagine the rich history of places like this. Wherever you go, there is a temple, shrine or pagoda waiting for you, and in between it's full of traditional houses and parks (too many pictures, I just include a small selection). We visited a few temples and shrines, and while these monuments themselves are impressive, it's certainly also the combination with the magnificent gardens and parks that makes it complete (especially for nature lovers like us). We walked the whole day, did more than 20km, and had a great time! We will now stay 1 more night in this guesthouse and then have to check out as they close for a short while, but have decided this morning to stay another 2 nights in Kyoto as it's such a nice place, and it's so nice to enjoy it a little bit more before leaving towards the last part of our trip...