in-all-places: Japan tour: Kyoto and Philosopher's Path

Kyoto,

and this is where my splendid vacation in Japan ended.
We arrived in Kyoto by train from Kanazawa and the journey was as easy as the whole holiday - on-time train with extremely comfortable seats, information desk as effective as you would expect in Japan after a three weeks journey, always helpful and polite.
We took the subway from Kyoto station - again simple as hello, and reached our hotel reception desk (hotel name being Kyoto Hotel Okura) directly using an escalator connecting with the subway. We check in and we urgently went out to explore!

We had a long list and only few days:
Kinkaku-ji temple that is the Golden flag and the Nijo-jo castle - built in 1600 by the first Shogun of unified Japan; Kyoto Gosho Imperial Palace and Ginkakuji/ the Silver Pavilion - gorgeous, number one on my list!
Gion - the pleasure quarter of Kyoto, so to speak! Cosy with everything japanese in: Geisha, narrow streets, tiny temples, lanterns and many small and expensive restaurants! Then visit the temples in Nara, Kyoto deer sanctuar... (2)! to be continued
That plus plenty of shops located right in the hotel area - Kawaramachi-Oike, near the center!

Interesting about Kyoto is the striking difference between the ancient, traditional tourist must-see spots and the modern, almost common, day-to-day cityscape: impressive!

My favourite? From Ginkakuji we chose to walk back the Philosopher's Path (Tetsugaku no michi), a pleasant stone path following a water canal and lined by hundreds of cherry trees. We were to late to see them in full bloom but we did enjoy the approximately two km long walk: small restaurants, cafes, boutiques and private homes along the path, typical Japanese gardens as well as a number of smaller temples and shrines. It was a sunny afternoon so we stopped for a tea and spent some quality time with a book in the shadow of the threes. Marvellous!