It has been a busy 10 days with cleaning, hosting, and finally getting a puppy! But back to Day 14.
We started with eating breakfast at the top of the Washington Hotel. It was a buffet-style breakfast with a variety of different foods to eat. After getting a few plates myself, we returned to our hotel room to prepare for our day.
Our first stop was Nara park. It has been almost 8 years since I last visited the deer. (Japan 2019 was to see the shrine instead of the park). OF course, we had to feed the deer, though I didn't feel that they were as aggressive as they were in the past. We also picked this particular day since they apparently released a bunch of fawns they were raising. Unfortunately, we didn't see many fawns throughout the park. We did see a deer that had a twisted horn. I didn't notice, until my girlfriend pointed out, that one of his legs were lame. Unfortunately, and probably due to his size, he was getting bullied by the bigger bucks when people tried to feed him. We were able to lure him away from the others and feed him. Perhaps it wasn't something I noticed the last two times I was here, but almost all of the deer bowed when you bowed and offered them a cracker.
After Nara, we headed to Uji to eat shaved ice or Kakigori. Unfortunately, the famous shops we tried to visit were near closing time or required a reservation. After purchasing some treats, we found a Tsujiri nearby. After waiting a few minutes, we were able to get a table. Besides kakigori, we got other sweets (or wagashi if I remember correctly). The kakigori was definitely the star of the show. I don't recall having such delicious shaved ice; the matcha flavors were spread evenly throughout the entire bowl.
After feeling satisified, we headed to Kyoto. Fushimi Inari was extremely busy, so we decided not to bother finding the torii gates. Instead, we headed to a quiet part of Gion. It was a pleasant walk from the station to Yasaka Pagoda. The streets were quiet, which is unlike most of the touristy places in Kyoto. It was nearing sunset, which made pictures of the pagoda more magical than normal in my opinion. After spending half an hour in the district, it was off to find a place for dinner. We settled for Coco Ichiban. I didn't have curry all trip thus far. If you ever go to Japan, Coco Ichiban is a must for their affordability and delicious curry.
With our bellies full, we headed back to Kyoto station so we could take the shinkansen back to Osaka.
Off to another city tomorrow! (Hopefully I'll have some time tomorrow to write about it!)
A shot of Yasaka Pagoda from the bottom.
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