Whether it is a sign of our own ignorance, or just a product of Japan's distance from home, neither of us knew much about Kyoto before our visit. Indeed, in my mind it was a place of greenery and lakes - I can only think that somewhere along the way I have linked it with Geneva, possibly due to their respective protocol and convention!
For the visitor, Kyoto is a hybrid city; part modern Japanese metropolis, part regional capital and part cultural centre. It is of course the final attractions that bring most people, including us once we'd completed our research, here. Kyoto holds an extremely important place in Japanese history, and was the capital of the country for much of the period between 794 and 1868, when the shogunate ran Japan from Edo (now Tokyo).
It is also home to over 2,000 shrines and temples - not bad for a city of 1.5 million people. I imagine that when my parents visited about 30 years ago, my mum was in her element, whereas dad likely yearned for some people spotting after a couple of days!
It is very easy to become 'templed-out', but there are some amazing sights to see. We only had two and a half days here so concentrated our efforts primarily in the Higashiyama region, seemingly home to most of the 2,000 plus sights.
The Lonely Planet helpfully provided us (and many others on the day) with a walking tour in the southern part of the area as an introduction to the city. Our first experience of Kyoto's temples was at Kiyomizu-dera, one of thirteen temples in the city designated a world heritage site by Unesco. The most interesting part of the temple was the opportunity to descend into Tainai-meguri, a passage that represented Buddha's journey through his mother's womb. It was absolutely pitch-black as we struggled through, following the beads on the walls.
Other highlights of the walk included the Kodai-ji temple, with a massive statue of the Buddha, which was reminiscent of a Buddhist version of Cristo Redentor, the statue of Christ that we had seen in Rio, and a chance to see some of the traditional Kyotan streets.
We finished the day in Nishiki Market, a colourful collection of Japanese foods, antique shops and souvenirs. This was followed by a night out with some of the folks from our hostel.
The next morning we realised that Japanese plum wine is a little dangerous! We soldiered on however, into Northern Higashiyama, Eikan-do, one of our favourite temples in Kyoto, was a highlight. Unfortunately, no photographs were allowed, so we will have to remember the beautifully ornate central hall and the statue of Mikaeri Amida (Buddha Glancing Backwards).
We followed the Tetsugaku-no-michi (Path of philosophy), negotiating our way through enthusiastic schoolchildren approaching us to shout 'Hello!' (or sometimes 'Harrow!'). One of them even shouted 'you are beautiful!' at one of us, but whether it was to me or Charlotte has been a matter for debate...
At the end of the path, we reached Ginkaku-ji, which according to the Lonely Planet is 'one of Kyoto's premier sights'. Unfortunately, the main building was covered in scaffolding, although this didn't stop the ticket office selling tickets at full price. It was however, our first chance to see a meticulous Japanese garden, containing cones of white sand, plants that had been cut impossibly and raked sand, all set around a small lake.
We made the decision late in the day to head over to Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Temple, despite a spot of temple fatigue, and were very glad we made the effort. It is an extremely picturesque temple that has been covered in gold leaf, set by a lake. Interestingly, the current building only dates from 1955. The original was constructed in 1397, but in 1950 a young monk consummated his obsession with the building by burning it down.
After a fantastic Thai meal with some more people from the hostel, and a good night's sleep, we bade farewell to Kyoto, heading east on the bullet train to Tokyo. This is appropriate, as (nothing gets past us!) we had noticed that Kyoto is an anagram of Tokyo - one means city in the east, and one city in the west.
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