Green Kyoto
I have been coming to Kyoto every year for the autumn foliage season and the spring cherry blossom season, and the image is red for autumn and pink for spring—well, that's exactly how it is.
And this time, the image color for early summer (during the rainy season) was green. Of course, that makes sense; if it turns red in autumn, it's green maple leaves right now. And as is typical for the rainy season, the moss becomes beautiful too.
After touring Izushi, Kinosaki Onsen, and Amarube, I returned to Kyoto, returned the rental car, and since I had two days of leeway in Kyoto, I did a little sightseeing amidst the early summer greenery. Of course, there are inbound tourists all year round, but Kyoto is much easier to walk around in compared to autumn or spring.
I have two favorite temples in Kyoto, but one of them is closed on Wednesdays, so I headed toward the Arashiyama area to visit the other one. First, I did some sutra copying at Daikaku-ji Temple to clear my mind.
After that, I went to Nison-in Temple, one of my top two. At the foot of Mt. Ogura, the 'Baba' (approach) is beautiful with maple leaves in autumn and cherry blossoms in spring, and currently, it is a green maple leaf approach.
Because of its location, it used to be not crowded at all, but lately, there are quite a lot of people. I think it's a bit questionable that two Western girls were sitting cross-legged and chatting in front of the Buddha in the main hall, but there were also foreigners who properly asked for 'Goshuin' (temple stamps), which was heartwarming.
After being healed for a while and having lunch at Masako-san's shop, I went to Hogon-in Temple. I've only ever been here during the autumn foliage season, but the moss is beautiful.
It's easy on the eyes, isn't it? (laughs)
And then, I visited Kurumazaki Shrine, a Kyoto staple, to pray that I can perform to my satisfaction again this year! Please, God of Performing Arts, I'm counting on you.
Lastly, I went to my favorite Starbucks at Rokkaku-do. I had a ticket, so I tried the new peach milk frappuccino for this summer, but it was a bit too sweet.
I managed to spend the day almost without needing an umbrella. Tomorrow, the final day, is forecast to be rainy all day. I hope it doesn't cause any trouble for transportation.