Coming Down The Mountain... My Actifit Report Card: April 15 2019

Our first full day in Kyoto — this is definitely my kind of town. It is quite possibly the most beautiful city I have ever had the fortune and pleasure of being in!

It helps that the cherry blossoms are out... but even then... the canals, the trees, the traditional homes, the people walking around in traditional dress (kimono), the temples...

In the morning we went to Fushimi Inari, a very famous Shintō shrine (pictured). Avoiding the hordes of gaijin tourists we took a lesser used path up to the peak of Mt Inari and saw plenty of smaller shrines and stunning views of the valley.

I know nothing about the indigenous Shintō tradition, but I was moved by something on the mountain and feel I need to learn more.

After lunch we made our way to the other end of the city to Ginkakuji Zen Buddhist temple, which was very different, although I could feel the serenity of the place emerging even amongst the bustle of chattering tourists.

From there, we followed the ‘Path of Philosophers’, stopping briefly at a very hidden — and thus no tourists — small Zen Buddhist shrine.

So another 12km. However I don’t feel anywhere near as tired or sore as I did the day I walked that in Tokyo. The difference was that most of our walking was on unsealed tracks and clean mountain air, as opposed to the concrete and polluted air of a bustling metropolis.

Tomorrow we’re going to explore more temples, and hopefully I’m going to get the chance to attend a zen meditation in one of these temples..... stay tuned...

Walking,Photowalking