Day 2

That afternoon we went up into the Gion district and which are nestled in the foothills of koyto.  We walked up into the mountains to look at  a number of the temples and pagodas.  We got some great views of the city and could see the mountains the wall the city to the east, north and west.

One of the largest was the Kiyomizu temple, which is over 1200 years old and the area is certainly a mecca for tourists. The temple is set on massive wooden poles bulit into the side of the mountain.

Being a Sunday there were a lot of local tourists, however surprisingly only a handful of westerners. There were quite a few ladies dressed in the colorful Kimono's and a few Geisha girls.

The trees in the hills were stunning and the walk up to the top really worthwhile, despite the crowds and tourist shops everywhere.

So after walking all day we were all pretty tired and decided to cab it back to the hotel..  We were recommended a place nearby for dinner and it was also ranked number one on trip advisor.  We got the concierge at our hotel to make us a booking and the only proviso was we had to order a drink with our meals, which we thought we could manage.

Sitting down for dinner at Gogjo after a long day walking Kyoto.

The food and drinks here compared to Perth are surprisingly cheap, maybe its the strength of the $A. But a main meal for dinner will be somewhere between $6 and $15. Beer available from vending machines, supermarkets are around $2 -$3 per can and softdrinks around $2.

Have been unable to get cash out of the ATM machines, and have looked up the guide books and this surprisingly is pretty normal.  I will need to wait until monday to go into a bank to use ATM or exchange cash. Even a few of the hotels I have asked don't seem to exchange currency.