Temples and Udon

We started off the day today with a traditional Japanese breakfast consisting of fish, a Japanese omelette, pickles, yogurt, miso soup, vegetables and more. 

From there, we headed to Kinkaku-ji (a Buddhist temple) which is the more commonly known as the Golden Pavilion. We ran into some Japanese school children who were practicing their English with us, which was cute. They all had little booklets and they each asked us a question like "how long are you in Kyoto?" and "how many temples have you been to?" They then proceeded to take a picture with us to prove to their teacher that they did their assignment and didn't just make it up. 

Below is the Golden Pavilion, perfectly reflecting into the pond below. 

Here's a picture of us... 

Our next stop was Tofuku-ji, a great Zen temple. This temple was not crowded at all, which was very nice. It's so hot and humid here, so when you have to walk through big crowds it's even worse. I really liked the architecture on the structure below. 

We also went to Sanjusangendo, my mom's favorite place in Kyoto. There were some really unique orange buildings which I loved. I've never seen anything quite like it! 

Inside the wooden temple at Sanjusangendo, there were 1,001 bronze statues of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, which unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures of. 

Later in the afternoon, my mom and I went shopping on Teramachi, a never-ending arcade. We bought some sushi-themed rice crackers and candy, and since we're in Japan of course I had to stop for some boba. I've never seen caramel milk tea boba in the States before, which is too bad because it was one of the best bobas I've ever had. While we were walking through the arcade I came across a ton of laterns that were just so typical Japanese that I had to take a picture. When I think of Japan, these kinds of laterns are one of the first images that pops into my head. 

When we got back to the hotel, we were so tired from our sightseeing and shopping that we decided to order room service. I've been craving udon, and after eating this udon I will never classify United States' udon as being good... This udon was the best I've ever had, with the freshest noodles and best broth. 

Tomorrow will be a long day so it's off to bed... At 8pm!!