Kyoto, Japan - 28th January 2023

Today it was the turn of the Ginkaku-ji, or Silver temple, located in Northern Higashiyama in the north-east of the city.

The gorgeous grounds, laid out by painter and designer Soami, surrounded the temple with ponds, moss, woodland, and immaculately raked cones of sand, now hidden beneath snow, which were apparently designed to reflect moonlight to enhance the garden at night.

Ginkaku-ji

On approaching the temple, we spotted an elderly lady out polishing her local bus stop, not a sight we had ever seen before. We had also passed rows of small shops. One offered delicious-smelling snacks named a potato tornado, a continuous corkscrew of potato fried on a skewer.

After our tiring walk around the gardens, we indulged to fortify us for our next challenge the Tetsugaku-no-Michi, or Path of Philosophy.

Potato Tornadoes all around, please.

Highlights of the Path of Philosophy

Tired but happy and grateful for the city's fantastic bus travel app, we located a bus stop at the end of the path and headed home, choosing a selection of fresh sashimi for dinner at the supermarket on the way.