Japan: Kyoto

Final stop on our trip: Kyoto. Then bullet train back to Tokyo and the 7.5 hr flight back (thank you jet stream!) left us all exhausted – dealt with jet lag for a good week…but all worth it. Highlights in Kyoto:

A cold and rainy Kyoto walking tour but our guide David was great – showed us spots off the beaten path (no crowds!), told stories about the history that made the temples interesting, and took us to find some traditional food!Kiyomizu-dera temple – lots of history and legends about this place
Sannenzaka – traditional shopping street
Fushimi Inari gates
Nintendo Museum – kids loved playing with the giant controllers and playing retro games on old consoles; was cool for mom and dad to see the history of the company and all of the different versions of consoles and games along the way (unfortunately no pictures allowed in the museum part of the building)
Sushi train restaurant for mom and dad
Micro-pig cafe. You heard it right…the kids were so excited. It was as you’d expect

Bamboo forest – if you sit and watch, supposedly you can see it grow…sometimes 1.5″ per hour!

Our first family meal in a restaurant (usually they were too small and crowded for a family of 6!) – kids loved eating on the floor!

Sushi train restaurant – grab what you want off the conveyor belt and try it!

drinking the streams of water from the mountain for either finding love, success in school, or a long life (you don’t know which stream is which so you have to pick one to drink from!)