23 September

The started with a (planned) switch to a different hotel.  As it was raining, we went first to the Kyoto Handicraft Centre, where we each bought various things and I found a nice birthday present for Esther.  By the time we were done, the rain had stopped so we went back to pick up bikes from the hotel, and hit the shrine/temple trail once again, starting with Kiyomizu Dera and a wander in the lovely streets there, and then on to the stunning Ginkaku temple.  We then climbed up the hill behind that temple for a wonderful view over Kyoto (and even to Osaka) as the sun set.  That's where I took this photo of Nao, Tine and Kyoto, at 17.56.    The day finished with an excellent Japanese trilogy: tonkatsu for dinner, a session of karaoke, and our first experience of an onsen.