Kyoto, a place like no other, holds a special place in my heart with its many Buddhist temples, traditional wooden houses, imperial palaces, gardens and delightful food, but most of all for it’s beauty, history and peaceful quietness that allows space for reflection.
I first wrote about Kyoto on this blog three years ago after a visit where I stayed at a Buddhist temple for a weekend in order take a meditation class, and over the course of the few days found many unexpected surprises, met new friends, walked through a bamboo forest and hiked to the top of a mountain to see the monkeys.
This week I was fortunate to visit Kyoto again with some of my colleagues for a day of fun and exploration before we kicked off our work in Osaka with a corporate partner.
Yet today my heart is heavy that just a few days after our visit Kyoto saw an atrocious act of arson with a fire that caused so much harm and lost so many lives. I share photos from our visit on Monday with reverence and respect to Kyoto and my heart goes out to the families of those lost.
Monday, July 15th, a day of exploration…
We were staying in Osaka so we got up early and took the train to Kyoto and immediately made our way to the bike rental company. Once on our bikes, Kris and Kristin navigated us through the city to the bike path along the river so we could make our way north to the Philosopher’s Path.
As we rode through the streets, crooked and small, and along the path, I felt exuberant and so free. We were lucky in that it was not too hot; the day was cloudy, which kept us out of the sun, yet it did not rain. The wind was on my face and rushed through my hair. As we made our way the scents of the city filled my nostrils: wafts of fragrant flowers, bursts of incense seeping from the shrines and temples, and delicious smells of delicacies flowing out of the myriad of restaurants.
The Philosopher’s Path is a stone path lined with cherry trees that follows a little canal where one of Japan’s famous philosophers was said to have meditated during his daily walk to Kyoto University.
After walking our bikes along the path, we stopped at Omen for lunch to have some of their famous udon noodles and experience local fare.
After lunch we mounted our bikes again and made our way back to the banks of the Kamo River.
We stopped for a minute so that we could walk across the stone path…
The Kamo River stepping stones include large turtles crossing the river.
Our final destination was across the city again to The Golden Pavilion, dazzling architectural beauty surrounded by water and zen gardens.
The Golden Pavilion
Before heading back to the train station we made sure to enjoy the refreshing green tea ice cream.
Carrie Allen created this site as a way for people to share stories about things they love. She loves chasing quiet, authentic moments and sharing them with her family and friends. Read more about her inspiration here.
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