not dampen the mood or the desire to explore this lovely city.
Took the shuttle into the station and bought day passes for the "City Loop"
buses.
First stop was the Omicho Market which has been in existence for 270+ years.
It was Sunday and early, so there were not a lot of people. The variety of
fish on display was incredible. Jan was offered a taste of some green tea -
one sip was all she needed - saying it tasted like grass - the mound of the
"tea" looked like grass clippings - so maybe.
Got back on the shuttle and headed over to Higashi Chaya Geisha district, an
area famous as the Gion district of Kyoto. Lots of shops and some
interesting people watching.
Decided to skip the wait at the shuttle and walk to Kenrokuen Gardens and
Castle Park. The garden is said to be one of the three most beautiful
gardens. The castle was first occupied in 1583 by Maeda Toshie. A real
castle with gates and a moat - Japanese style. Took a rest stop to get dry
and enjoy some local cuisine - noodles with shrimp tempura - which when
drenched in the broth was more like noodles and mini-dumplings.
Refreshed, it was time to head over to the shrine district. Took a few wrong
turns and discovered some very interesting sites along the way.
The sightseeing agenda was ambitious, but still managed to see most of the
places on the list.
