My last shrine! On our last day in Kyoto, we decided to split up and let everyone do their own thing. My oldest wanted to go thrifting and souvenir shopping. My youngest wanted to go out exploring on his own. My husband mostly wanted to rest. I headed out to the Kyoto Handicraft Center on a mission to find a handmade kokeshi doll. (And I was successful! The Kyoto Handicraft Center is amazing!!!) Then I went to the nearby Heian Jingu Shrine and its beautiful gardens. I headed back to the hotel from there to check in with my oldest …

Built in 1895, Heian Jingu is a relatively new shrine by Japanese standards. It was built for the 1,100th anniversary of the founding of the city of Heiankyo (modern day Kyoto), Japan’s imperial capital from 794 to 1868. It enshrined the first and last emperors of the Heian period, Emperor Kanmu and Emperor Komei respectively. The shrine is a 5:8 scale replica of the State Hall of the original Imperial Palace. Walking through the impressive Otenmon gate, I was struck by how few buildings there were and how large the gravel courtyard was. On the right side of the courtyard …

After exploring the Bamboo Grove and Sogenchi Teien, we were ready to see some monkeys! We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then crossed Togetsu-kyo Bridge over the Oi River to get to the entrance to the Arashiyama Monkey Park. The monkey park costs ¥800 for adults and ¥400 for children ages 4-15, payable in cash only. We paid the fee, grabbed some of the maps that doubled as a fan (it was hot!), and started the walk up. The hike is steep with a combination of steps and paved trail used on the switchbacks all the way up …

Tenryu-ji Temple is the top ranked of Kyoto’s Five Great Zen temples and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The “Heavenly Dragon Temple” was built in 1339 but has been destroyed by fires 8 times since then. The most recent fire was in 1864 and reconstruction started 4 years later. While the temple buildings were destroyed many times over the years, the temple’s landscape garden, Sogenchi Teien, survived all of the fires and is one of the oldest in Japan. Designed by Zen master Muso Soseki, the garden’s interplay with the mountains of Arashiyama is an example of shakkei (borrowed …

One of Kyoto’s most photographed spots, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is exactly what it sounds like – a forest of thousands of towering bamboo plants. A walkway cuts through the middle, creating the famous 400-500 meter “Bamboo Alley”. We arrived via tram at Arashiyama Station and headed out to the main street. We walked north and followed signs to the Bamboo Grove that led us to enter near Honen-ji Temple. Beautiful pale blue hydrangea lined the path to the grove entrance. Joining the path at this point brings you to a section called Chikurin no Sansakuro (“Bamboo Forest Trail”) that isn’t …

Our last shrine on the Hidden Kyoto E-Bike Tour was actually just a pass-through. Quite literally, we walked through Imamiya Shrine simply to come out on the other side. Because that’s where the real treasure awaited, at Ichimonjiya Wasuke (or “Ichiwa”). Ichiwa is the oldest continuously operating confectionary shop in Japan. It opened in the year 1000 and has been run by 25 generations of the same family ever since. Their specialty (and in fact the only item they sell) is aburi-mochi (mochi for short), a traditional Japanese rice cake. Mochi is made from mochigome, a short-grain glutinous rice. The …

Leaving Kinkaku-ji, a temple destroyed by arson, we headed to a temple with a bloody history, Genko-an Temple. Genko-an is a Soto Zen Buddhist Temple famous for both its windows and its ceiling. This small temple has a peaceful ambiance that belies its dark history. After walking through the gate to the quiet garden entrance, we went into the temple. Once inside, Sean told us the story of the Siege of Fushimi Castle in 1600. This legendary battle saw a group of 2,000 Eastern Army soldiers led by Torii Mototada hold off a force of 40,000 men led by Ishida …

Our second stop on the Hidden Kyoto e-Bike Tour was the one that was not so hidden. Kinkaku-ji is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most popular places to visit in Kyoto. Sean gave us the option of stopping here since it was near their bike shop and along the route of the other shrines and temples we were visiting. Since I knew we wouldn’t be back in this part of town again, we definitely wanted to see it while we were there. Known as The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, the building was originally the retirement …

The first stop on our Hidden Kyoto E-Biking Tour was Kitano Tenmangu Shrine. Dedicated to Sugawara Michizane, a scholar and politician who is associated with Tenjin, the Shinto god of education, this seemed like the perfect stop for us on our son’s high school graduation trip! What better spot to visit before we send him off to college than a shrine where local students come to pray for success in their studies? Sugawara Michizane was born in 845 AD. He was a successful poet and scholar before turning his attention to politics. After a rapid rise in political positions and …

Our Japan trip was different from many of our previous international trips in that we didn’t do a lot of guided tours. We’ve had amazing private tour guides from Belize to Portugal, but for some reason Japan seemed like a place we wanted to mostly explore on our own. The one exception is that we booked the Hidden Kyoto E-Biking Tour and we are so glad that we did! Much like its tours, the Noru bike shop is also a little off the beaten path, or at least in a part of the city that is not accessible by the …