Temple hopping

Any of the last night's misery was made up in for in our first day in Kyoto. Our first stop was at the Golden Pavilion, a temple that shines layered in real gold from its perch on the edge of a lake. On our way out, some little boys asked to have their picture taken with me. When I answered in Japanese, they looked at each other in shock and said, "She speaks Japanese!"

Ok, the truth? I don't speak Japanese. But I'm really good at faking it. They're just surprised when anything remotely Japanese comes out of an American mouth.



Our next stop was a shrine, where we saw the weeping cherry tree I posted a picture of earlier.

We managed to get the outdoor sightseeing in before it started to rain, then headed to the Nishiki Market. No matter how many markets I visit, they never fail to impress me.



Lesson learned: Navigating around Kyoto was surprisingly easy, despite the fact that many maps were missing many streets and the majority of street signs were in Japanese characters.