Kyoto: Higashiyama District
Higashiyama District
The tea ceremony was in the Higashiyama district. There was no good subway connection to get there, but a bus was an option. We did not want to deal with that, so we took a taxi. We were dropped off at the corner of Ishi-no-michi and the Ninen Zaka Path. We hadn’t done much homework and only learned these names later. We walked down that Ninenzaka (二年坂) 🗾 path towards the tea house and “discovered” this fascinating historic district, utterly unaware that this was a major tourist attraction (though we did notice a lot of tourists).
After the tea ceremony, we continued along Ninenzaka and had some ice cream. We then turned left and also walked Sannenzaka (産寧坂 (三年坂)) 🗾. The area has small streets and many shops, and while it is not very large, one can spend a lot of time here. We ended up at a temple complex, where, after entering through the gate, we encountered a three-storied pagoda, called Kiyomizu-dera, Sanjū-no-tō Pagoda (清水寺 三重塔) 🗾, before reaching two temples (we would not learn their names until the next day). The exploration was somewhat rushed, as we arrived there a little after 6 PM and it was closing, but we still got a good look and some pictures. We also took a quick look at the outside of the second temple (because it was closed), Kōdaiji Temple (高台寺) 🗾, before returning to the hotel and getting dinner.
