The day started with some terrible news from home. And Kyoto was right in sync with our mood – it was grey and wet all day with intermittent (very) heavy downpours as a typhoon passed off the coast to the south.
We decided to make the most of it and headed out into the deluge. First stop was Kinkaku-Ji, famous for its Golden Pavillion set in the middle of a small lake. Even on a day like today the site was packed with tourists – every one of them armed with an umbrella open and set at around eye/shoulder height. It only took 5 minutes walking and we were all thoroughly soaked. Despite all this the temple was still an impressive sight – the gold leaf shining through the grey day, the texture of the lake beautiful in the rain. We even managed to light some incense and think of home and what everyone there must be going through.
Soggy and cold we boarded the bus for Nishiki Market, the huge food market in central Kyoto. We planned to grab a few snacks to warm us up but instead stumbled across an excellent Udon Noodle Restaurant called Fumiya. The starchy slightly gelatinous soup with shimeji mushrooms was amazing and the texture of the udon noodles was perfect.
The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering randomly from stall to stall, shop to shop, trying to stay out of the rain. Before we knew it, it was getting dark and we headed across to Spring Valley Brewery, a craft beer place we had passed a few times on our walks. We intended to stop in for a quick drink but ended up staying for more than that, filling up on beer and snacks and talking about home. The rain was still falling when we left.
flyeelookee 