We went to Fushimi Imni Shrine - lots of people all with umbrellas. There is a tunnel of thousands of bright orange torii gates that sneak through the forest into the mountains.
Then back on the bus to Sanjusamgen-do Hall - a
temple famous for their 1001 statues of Goddess of Mercy and the war
lords. There is a huge Buddha in the
middle - many people were praying. The
Temple was very impressive - no pictures were allowed - these pictures are from
a postcard.
Then on the bus to Gion for free time for shopping,
and to have our lunch. We crossed the
bridge over a swollen river, went to a Department store, and then to the Disney
store. We stopped at a sandwich shop on
our way back, had a ham and cheese sandwich and a drink ($8) - very good.
Back to the hotel at 3 o'clock, and at 5 o'clock,
went on the bus to the farewell dinner.
The tour guide told us this was a Ninja-Kyoto restaurant, and we
expected steak with flashing knives.
We went back downtown - the bus parked at the same
bridge, we walked across, and then maybe another 3 blocks to the restaurant -
still raining hard. The restaurant was
in a cellar, with hardly any lights. A
Japanese dinner was served to us - good, but not exceptional, and two of the
waiters performed some magic tricks at the table - and that was the Ninja show.
Back on the bus - we arrived back at the hotel about
8 pm.
We were flying to Vancouver, and then home - we stood in the security line for a hour and a half so go early to the Airport. They did not serve any coffee on the flight - too rough because of the Cyclone, but arrived safely in Vancouver and then Houston - high wind delay there - Jacksonville - and arrived home late that night.
We enjoyed this cruise, and our tour around Japan. We learned lots about Japan, and had a really good holiday.
Please follow - the next cruise, South America, published in November, 2018.
