Japan's Ancient Capital

After another incredibly fast and comfy trip on the Shinkansen we arrived to Kyoto central station, not realizing straight away the amazing and beautiful building that the station is. It was only two days later when we went back for a delicious Ramen noodle soup on the station's 10th floor, that we enjoyed the magnificent view of Kyoto from the roof top, admired the light show on the enormous stair case and contemplated the architectonic landmark that it represents.
Kyoto, as the ancient Japanese capital, is very beautiful, picturesque and culturally rich with an impressive number of temples, shrines, typical houses and restaurants, museums, street markets, canals and therefore, tourists, shit loads of us...
We stayed in an homestay very well located, which meant that, despite the efficient network of public transports and the abundant rain, we chose to walk almost everywhere as long as wouldn't take more than two hours... Our host was very funny and helpful, sitting us down on our arrival for a

broken English half hour lecture about all kinds of things, illustrated with wonderful hand drawn maps.
We passed several times through Gion neighborhood, the old geisha district, where tourists dressed in rented kimonos eat green tea ice cream and admire the traditional Japanese houses and the occasional geisha. We walked through Higashiyama area where tourists dressed in rented kimonos eat green tea ice cream and visit the vast complex of temples and

shrines. We visited Nishiki Market where tourists dressed in rented kimonos eat green tea ice cream, go shopping and try the famous and expensive delicacies of Japanese cuisine. We took a bus to the western district of Arashiyama where tourists dressed in rented kimonos eat green tea ice cream, walk through the beautiful Bamboo forest and visit the vast complex of temples and shrines, and we trekked to the top of a mountain to enjoy a glorious view of the city. We headed south on a train to the famous Fushimi Inari Taisha Temple where tourists dressed in rented kimonos eat green tea ice cream and walk through the impressive thousands of red shrine gates winding their way up the mount Inari. We had an expensive and underwhelming dinner at the super cute and narrow

Pontocho Alley where tourists dressed in rented kimonos pay a fortune to experience the ancient forms of eating and entertainment. We also visited the Manga International Museum where not many tourists and mainly locals sit for hours reading an extensive collection of comic books, and we had our portrait made by a local artist. We walked through beautifully lit roads alongside winding canals, where mainly locals have food and sake in gorgeous tiny restaurants, including the Philosophers Path where no lights, restaurants, tourists, or even people, could be seen at all. Just us and the rain.