Stay Golden

On Sunday we visited Kinkaku (The Golden Pavilion), a Zen Buddhist temple. The gold leafing covering the pavilion is meant to purify any negative thoughts and feelings towards death.

After a late(r) start to the day, our commute consisted of a subway ride into Sanjo station, followed by a 45 minute bus ride. However after about four stops in, we realized we got on the wrong bus. Fortunately after we hopped off, we found ourselves in the heart of the Sanjo-dori shopping district. It was then we realized the joy of having nowhere to necessarily be, with the rest of the day still ahead of us. 

View from the Sanjo Ohashi Bridge. Spanning the Kamo River, it served as the ending location for long
distance travelers during the Edo Period.

One of the many halls filled with shops.

Since Google maps was telling us the wrong location of where our bus was supposed to be, we watched where it turned as it passed us by and we eventually made it to the correct stop.

One crowded ride later, we made it to Kinkakuji. The garden and buildings, centered around the Golden Pavilion, were said to represent the Pure Land of Buddha in this world. Although, it was hard to practice such mindfulness with all of the noisy tourists around! Nonetheless, the temple was beautiful.

The Sekka-tei Tea House, meaning "Place of Evening Beauty". The alcove pillar in made of
nandina wood (heavenly bamboo)

Fudo-do Temple

For lunch we enjoyed some delicious Udon from Marugame Seimen Kawaramachi Sanjo, indulged in some parfait sundaes (to be honest, not the best ice cream ever), and then did a little shopping where we may have each bought some new clothes (oops!).

Making fresh noodles!

The assembly line

The plastic sundae displays were quite pretty. haha

Strawberry cheesecake & caramel waffle

When I went shopping in Harajuku, the fitting room attendant handed me a number and a little cloth. I didn't know what the cloth was for...until now! It's to cover your face when trying on clothes so you don't get makeup on them. Ridiculous and genius at the same time. 

Embracing Japanese fashion! 😝

After another busy day, it was time to head home and do some laundry! We'd always see clothing hanging from balconies, as there are no dryers in Japan. Way to live a more energy efficient lifestyle 👍. Luckily we were given instructions in English on how to operate the washing machine, and by the morning we had crisp, fresh clothes!

Our clothes out to dry from our Airbnb window