Kyoto, Round 2

Cindy and I took a quick trip over to Kyoto via the shinkansen for a few days.  This being my second time to the city, I was totally taken aback to how I felt about this city by the time our time ran out.

I fell in love.  I could have wandered the old streets for days...

tea houses

We were fortunate to see 6 geisha in total as we wandered through the Gion district.  The geisha culture is still very much alive here in Japan, and I read that there are still some 2000 geisha in the country who are experts in their field of tea ceremony, singing, dance and conversation.  There were many a businessmen hurrying into the tea shops on their way to a night of their company.  All of the above photos were taken in the old district of Gion.

We did manage to pull ourselves away to go up to Arashiyama to see the bamboo groves. 

It was beautiful and cool, and a wonderful respite from the heat.

love the street food of this area!

Tea ceremony and yukata (summer kimono) dressing

Obi

Couldn't resist the 'fake hair'

The tea ceremony was held in a Japanese home, and was very interesting.  The tea was prepared and served in a very exact manner.  All the small steps, and meaning behind each was incredible. The very bitter tea was surprisingly good served with the sweets.  But I liked the dress up most of all!