After a rest at the the hotel, I started out again in the afternoon for the Southern Higashiyama area of the city. Now the main reason for this (although there are many other things to see here) is the Gion area of Kyoto. You may recognize it as the Giesha area of the old city. I know, it's touristy. But hell, I am not coming to Kyoto and NOT checking this place out!
Again, took the subway from Kyoto Station and transferred to the correct line and got off near the Gion district. My map said the area I was looking for wasn't too far away but like everything else in Japan I have found that to be all relative. Some streets don't have street names, some only have them in Japanese and you kind of have to wing it. After all, wandering is part of the fun.
There is a main street in Gion which is called Shimbashi and it is said to be the most beautiful street in Japan and possible in all of Asia. This is the place I wanted to see, because this was the area with all the old time tea houses and Geisha were located back in the day. I did wander around a bit and saw some cool things before stumbling upon Shimbashi. It was lovely. By this time it was late afternoon and the light was stunning on all these old buildings and walkways and bridges. Apparently young people also take what I can only assume are engagement pictures along these paths and just like in Moscow, I have random pictures of strangers in their wedding gear. Don't judge.
During my walk along this stretch of the city I also stumbled upon this shop - from the outside it looked more like a museum. Once I went in and chatted with the shop owner (who spoke really good English) I realized that it was a shop and not a musuem. It was called WAGlass, and the artist (who apparently is famous) takes old, antique kimono which can't be worn anymore and/or are in rough shape and creates art by fusing the pieces in between glass. They then make plates, coasters and stuff for sale. It was incredible. Each piece is an original and yes, I did spend money there. I bought a lovely small plate for my curio cabinet. No pictures of the piece i bought as she wrapped it all up for me to take home. I'll edit this with a pic once I get home.
The afternoon wore down as I wandered along the city and through the neighborhood, just walking and watching people. All in all, a lovely day that made me really enjoy this ancient city of Kyoto!
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