Kyoto-Higashiyama

Imagine an upside down "Dai"--I'm at the head, my shadow head is at the arms and to the left is the leg.
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On the menu for today--sakura.  With an early start I arrived at Ginkaku-ji Temple well before opening time so I headed up the trail to Daimonjiyama, the hill behind the temple.  One day in August, to celebrate the end of the O-bon season, five large bonfires in the shape of Kanji characters are lit in the hills surrounding Kyoto.  The first bonfire lit is the "Dai" (大) from this hill.  The hike up was about an 800 ft climb and it winded me.  I went to the top of the "Dai" but the morning fog obscured Kyoto, except for brief periods.  On a clear day you can see most of Kyoto.

Ginkaku-ji Temple
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Ginkaku-ji surprised me.  It was much more interesting than its better known brother, the gold-covered Kinkaku-ji.  Then it was a stroll down the sakura-covered Path of Philosophy.  Admirers using everything from cell phone cameras to professional set-ups were everywhere, snapping sakura pictures.  Eventually I reached the other end of the path, Nanzen-ji Temple.  I followed the crowd on the Kyoto Waterworks trail which took me out of the temple before I got to see much of it.  However, this trail was lined with sakura, so I didn't care.

Path of Philosophy
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Since the weather was nice and everyone was out walking, I decided to continue on to the south end of the Higashiyama area.  I returned to Maruyama Park and had lunch from the outdoor vendors.  While the night crowd was larger, it was still wall-to-wall people.  The Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka slopes were packed with people as well as the entrance streets to Kiyomizu-dera Temple.  The last stop was Kiyomizu-dera Temple but the weather again had gotten dreary.  That was enough sakura for me.