Nick and I visited Yasaka-jinja and Kiyomizu-dera with one of my English conversation students. We had a very fun evening of sightseeing and hanami!
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| A shot of the river as the sun was setting. |
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| Walking through Gion on our way to Yasaka-jinja. |
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| Cherry Blossoms in Gion |
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| Lantern-lit Streets of Gion |
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| Yasaka Shrine |
Inside of Yasaka Shrine there were many tents of food and souvenirs set up for the festival. We had some kasutera - which is one of my favorite Japanese sweet treats!
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| Special kasutera cooking pan |
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| I guess I am getting lots of protein! ;) |
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| Maruyama Koen - A very popular hanami picnic spot in Kyoto located right outside of Yasaka shrine. It looked so adorable with the cherry blossoms, Japanese-style picnic tables, lanterns, and strung lights! |
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| A very large cherry blossom tree |
Kiyomizu-dera
Kiyomizu-dera is a Buddhist temple and one of Kyoto's World Heritage Sites. It was so amazingly beautiful and our pictures don't do it justice unfortunately.
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| I've read that no nails were used in the construction of this temple... |
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| Cherry blossoms and views of downtown Kyoto. |
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| Kyoto tower is in the distance. |
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| Illuminated temple grounds and three-storied pagoda |
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| Otowa Waterfall (on the right) - people catch the sacred Otowa water with a ladle to drink and rinse their hands. We did it too... the ladles are placed under a UV light after each use (phew)! |
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| Last pic of the evening - Thank you Yuichi-san for such an authentic Kyoto experience (and for taking all the pictures of me and Nick)! |
