in the heart of japan

That is, Kyoto. Once the capital of Japan, Kyoto has retained its status as a place where old, traditional Japan lives on. Geisha, temples, shrines, hot springs, ryokan (old Japanese style inns), matcha (green) tea abound.

I live quite far from Kyoto, but I love visiting. For me, it's like entering a new world.

 

This is a river in Arashiyama, the east district of Kyoto.

We had lunch next to the river that day! I had yudofu, which is boiled tofu in a light broth. So light and delicious!

Of course, we had to get dessert. Kyoto is famous for its matcha desserts--this was a matcha cake with fresh cream on top. Drooling just thinking about it.

This was a temple also in Arashiyama. It was huge! The gardens were beautiful.

Lastly, we went to Fushimi Inari Shrine, which is in west/central Kyoto. It's famous for its red gates--they seriously go on forever! It takes about three hours to walk through them all.

We stopped by a cute cafe near the shrine. This is warabi mochi, a clear mochi with a chewy texture topped with soybean powder. Yum!

I want to go back!