A week in Kyoto

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Typical regional delicacies are the takoyaki and okonomiyaki, both of which I love and would suggest anyone try them. I have yet to meet the person who didn't enjoy okonomiyaki, and though people are sometimes (understandably) a little apprehensive about octopus tentacles sticking out of dubious-looking fried balls covered in powdered seaweed, I assure you, I would kill for some takoyaki right now. (Metaphorically speaking, of course).

There are lots of little restaurants and cafes around the shopping area, which itself is a cluster of streets sprawling outwards from the centre, and there you will find local and foreign cuisine, as well as the little cafes where I found pumpkin cake amongst other things. Another favourite.

Along the actual market street, you will see a couple of little booths or stands where they serve the takoyaki or octopus balls that I've been praising, and you should probably take the time to try some on your way. A word of warning -- you can't really eat standing up on the street, so they'll make you sit down on a bench available where you buy the stuff. Often they also sell a dessert which is fried dough filled with sweet red bean paste. Sounds like a doughnut but it's not as greasy.

As with most things in Japan, some of the delicacies can be quite pricey but you won't find yourself spending a fortune, or if you do, it'll be worth it. It's food, after all.

The reason is probably that we ended up going quite late, and were probably the last people let in before the temple area was closed for the night. It being December, it was already very dark, creating a wonderfully mystical atmosphere with the contrast of the illuminated pathways and the blackness of the surrounding hills, where rows of twinkling lights were visible all the way far into the distance.

There are many places from which you can get a beautiful view of either the hills or the actual city below. If you go up to the top at night time, the various buildings of the temple are partially lit, making them stand out of the darkness like magical giants, framed by scrawny leafless trees whose bony fingers reach out in every direction.

The digital camera that I'd bought a few weeks earlier in Tokyo has a night setting that gives everything a glowing, warmer appearance, and I got quite excited snapping away at everything, espcially the lights in the hills and ghoulish winter trees. I don't have them saved here unfortunately, so I can't upload them onto here at the moment, but will attmempt to do so later if I get the chance.

Either way Kiyomizy-dera is something quite spectacular and quite apart from other temples around due to its setting, whether you choose to go during the day or at night. However, if you are interested in something in an even more exotic setting, check out my journal on the Fushimi-Inari Taisha (a short train journey from both Kyoto and Nara, about half-way between the two). (There is an admission fee of -- I think -- about 600 yen to Kiyomizu-dera.)