Kyoto Day 9

This is our cute airbnb in Kyoto.  This place was awesome.  I'll do a post just on it.  It used to be a candy shop, and it is very traditional and very Japanese.  I loved it.  So anyway...

I really don't remember the names and places of everywhere we went this day.  There were a lot of temples which sort of blend together.  A lot were under renovation (Japan is gearing up for the Olympics) and full of tourists.  We ended the day in Gion which is the Geisha district and featured in Memoirs of a Geisha.  The big theatre was under renovation which made Lubert very sad, as she had just finished the book.  In Gion we had THE MOST DELICIOUS ramen at this restaurant which had THE MOST APPEALING design.  Loved the lights and the pottery and the chairs and....well it was a highlight.  I am going to post Rob's itinerary with brief notes: 

Day 9. Kyoto (Southern Higashiyama).

Sanjusangen-do. ++. Very cool and definitely worth it.

Kiyomizudera. -. Saw some of the grounds but didn’t pay – renovations and crowded, but we should go back.

Chawan Lane. +. Kind of fun.

Maruyama Koen. +/-. Crowded and not that great. Maybe we missed something?

Chion-in. Looked cool but closed for renovations.

Shoren-in. ++. Nice gardens.

Gion. ++. Fun to wander.

Minamiza Theater. -. Probably worth seeing, but completely covered for renovations.

Overall, Southern Higashiyama was disappointing – crowded with tourists and lots of stuff under renovation.

 The cute twinners.  They did this more than once.  We are pretty sure they planned it. 

I am not sure this is the night it happened but we got off the subway near here and weren't sure which exit to take.  We were huddled up trying to figure it out and we noticed this little schoolgirl, probably six or seven staring at us.  She just kept staring and listening to us.  Finally she pointed us to the exit we were looking for and it was seriously the cutest thing.  Little kids roam free in Japan.  American helicopter parenting makes me sad when you see free range kids.  Anyway, one more reason we loved Japan.