Day 07 - Thursday 2nd August

Today we had no tours booked and so we didn't bother setting the alarm. We expected that the bright morning sun would wake us - as was the case for the other places we've stayed. However, we were surprised to find when we first stirred that it was 8am.

For breakfast, we went down to the restaurant next to reception and had a very nice buffet breakfast - more choice than the hotel in Tokyo but perhaps not as fresh.

The tourist information centre near the railway station was due to open at 10am. We arrived just after 10 and got their advice on what to do during our stay in Kyoto. Today our plan was to make our own way on foot to several tourist sites on the north-east area of the city, the Higashiyama area.

It was a 20-minute walk to the first site, a Buddhist temple called Sanjusangendo. Along the way, we found a machine to buy water and a little shop where we bought sunburn cream. There were also several small temples.

The grounds of the Sanjusangendo temple were fairly impressive from the outside and we paid the entry fee for the main building. It was a long building that they claimed is the longest timber building in Japan. It must be well over 100m long.

As you might expect, you need to take your shoes off at the entrance. There were signs forbidding food, drinks and photography. In fact, several signs said they would confiscate your camera if you took photos and they would inspect your camera when you left.

Inside was amazing! Along the length of the temple are 1000 life-size gold-leaf statues with a dozen or more statues of gods in front of them. In the centre of the line-up of statues and gods is a large statue of Buddha. You can see why this is listed as one of the top tourist sites in Kyoto. Well worth the walk on a blistering hot day.

The next stop was supposed to be the Kyoto National Museum across the road. As it turns out, the museum was closed for reconstruction exception for a small exhibition and so we continued on up the hill towards the next destination, the Kiyomizu Temple.

The narrow street leading up to the temple had numerous cute little shops. The temple complex consisted of numerous temples including a five-storey temple. It had a great view back to the city including the Kyoto tower. At the end of the tour, the path lead you through a very pleasant Japanese garden area. Another great site.

Heading down the hill, we walked along several streets of small shops targeting tourists. Eventually we found a nice coffee shop for lunch. It had a very suitable selection of food and coffee in a nice garden setting. And air-conditioning!

We decided that in the following few days, we will need to plot a course that includes more regular stops at places where we can sit down in air-conditioning to relax and escape from the heat and humidity.

Through more streets, shops, gardens, temples, rickshaws, taxis, etc, we ended up at a pleasant parkland area including the Yasaka Shrine. Although there are more sites and temples up the hill, the heat had taken its toll and we caught a bus back down the hill to Kyoto railway station and our hotel.

The ideal way to cool off was to go to the hotel pool. This was more complicated than we thought - forms to fill in, lockers and combination locks to figure out, etc. They require everyone needs to wear a bathing cap. They handed us both matching red caps. This is the first time I've ever worn a bathing cap. Thankfully nobody had a camera.

The attendant kept a close eye on us as we swam. When I got to the other end, I found he'd walked up there too and was standing right behind me. The pool was only 1.2m deep. I didn't drown and I lived to tell the tale. Perhaps someone should tell Japanese attendants that Australians can swim - even doddering old men like me.

Tomorrow we had intended to go on an organised walking tour of another part of Tokyo. However, Suzy's knee was sore again after today's outing. So we thought that an organised bur tour might be a better plan. So we went around to the Granvia Lounge where they offer free advice and booking for people in Club rooms.

The attendant at the lounge rang the tour organiser only to find out that they'd closed two minutes earlier at 6pm. Rats! Then again, his solution might turn out to be better - he suggested we find our own way to the sites that were on the tour by using the Kyoto bus on an all-day bus pass.

For dinner we went back to the hotel buffet on level 2 for another great meal. When looking at the wine menu, they offered a glass of wine for JPY900, a bottle for about JPY4000 or all you can drink for JPY1500. It seemed too good to be true. You may or may not be surprised to find that I opted for the third option.

The air conditioning seems to be working remarkably well tonight. My guess is that we weren't the only one to ring reception last night about the warm temperatures. This morning we saw a man on the roof just outside our room - he seemed to be working on the air conditioning equipment. Our room feels cool tonight and we might need to use the quilt tonight.