Kyoto day- Aoi Matsuri, Kinkakuji and peeking at Daitokuji

In May, my friend Anna and I went to Kyoto Imperial Palace grounds to see the Aoi Matsuri procession start. It was a super hot day, but the procession was really cool- everyone was dressed up in Heian style clothes. If you're in Kyoto around the time of the Aoi Matsuri I think it's worth a visit, although other festivals like the Tenjin Matsuri are probably more exciting (they've got fireworks guys).

It was a really cool experience, but I think next time I'd go and see the end of the procession too, which I believe was around the Kamigamo and Shimogamo shrines. I think over that end they had more 'festival' things like Yatai. 

Anyway, after that we went to Kinkakuji (Anna had never been) Kinkakuji is a nice trip, but this was my fourth (!) time I think, so it's definitely enough for a while. It was really pretty with the new green maple leaves and the irises in the pond.

We grabbed some curry for lunch at a really cute place near Kinkakuji, and then on the way home we made a quick stop at Daitokuji. It is a temple complex, so while the entry to the actual complex is free, each sub temple has an entry fee, so we didn't go into any because it was hot and we were tired, but I definitely want to go back. It looks amazing, especially in May with the new green leaves. 

Thanks for reading~ I also went to a couple of other big festivals in Osaka and Kyoto, so hopefully I'll get around to posting about them too :) -Amy xoxo

Kitty heaven at Gohtokuji, Tokyo// Sushi, Odaiba and the Daikanransha// Nagaoka Tenmangu Shrine, Kyoto// Current Favourites: Autumn 2016