The end is near! More Kyoto and Nara

Well things are happening so fast that I didn't even have time to post anything yesterday. Now we've just wrapped up our last full day in Japan. But first things first - yesterday. We started out the day going to the Torii gates in Fushima. The pictures pretty much say it all - Miles and miles of red temple gates. The scope of the whole complex was amazing. After that we returned to Kyoto proper, did some shopping and had some truly amazing ramen noodles. Fatty pork prepared in a way I didn't truly think possible, just like butter. We went east again and got lost in temple after temple. We capped the day by going out for tempura - a place all about the ceremony of presenting the tempura. There was a Japanese couple there from Tokyo who were spending a few days in Kyoto, so we we're able to have some conversation while we shared similar dinners. Lucky the restaurant was right in the Gion neighborhood, famous for its cherry blossoms along a river bank.

...Sigh, falling asleep...

Today, Chiba-san came by bullettrain to meet us at the Kyoto train station. We then headed out to Nara, a capital of Japan just before Kyoto. We saw many great things there. I think the top 3 though were the wild deer, the Great Buda, and a cherry tree of epic beauty. We finished Nara off with a healthy lunch, composed of many interesting elements. We returned to the hotel in Kyoto after saying goodbye to Chiba-san. For dinner we stumbled into a small family restaurant just a few blocks from the ANA Hotel. We don't know what its name was, but the grand-daughter's name was Senda. The food, deep-fried, was great.

Time for bed, a few stops in the morning, and then the flight out.

Pictures:

Japan - Day 8

Japan - Day 9