Kyoto Area

We went to a flee market that had many stalls and very ugle bear looking things:

There was interesting food and many second hand Kimonos there, of which, we bought none. They cost about $10-$15, but the really nice ones are about $200.

Daimonji-yama Trek:

This was a half day trek that started with a long climb. We met a nice Irish man who gave us some tips about Kyoto. The view from the top was amazing. We could see the entire city and the sourrondings mountains.

At the top, there was a japanese man who gave some explanations about what we saw to some woman. You can listen also. We found it extremely useful! We decided he knows the way better than we did, so we followed him down...




It was a really fun walk inside a jungle-like environment.

We then continoued to Arashiyama mountain. It was another short trek to the summit, where we found monkeys. They are so used to humans that you can really get close to them.

The monkeys were quite active and played with each other. We decided to dub two of them:

(However, there seems to be a problem with the upload of this movie, so there is no sound. Sorry, wait till we get home).

The next day we walked to Fushimi Inari area (also known as the 10,000 red Torii). The Torii is the orange/red gates. The entire walk to the summit was through them.

Near the summit, there was a temple, and we found a pilgrim who came to say some prayers and to blow his horn.

Funf! we miss you!

Kyoto has a huge shopping area. Here are some pictures from there and some other random pictures:

I was surprised to find many barn owls in Japan. Apperantly, japanese really like this animal. Yesterday we found a large statue for sale at ~ 7,000,000 yen! (take out two zeros for $)

Here is me and Mr. Miagi (from Karate Kid)