Kyoto

So long Shanghai, hello Kyoto, Japan and Aunt Murf! This was a huge bucket list for me.  I have always wanted to see the cherry blossoms in Japan and the girls' Spring Break just happens to coincide with the two weeks of cherry blossom (Sakura) season.  I was just thrilled to be going and even more thrilled Aunt Murf wanted to join us!  We love to travel with her. She can keep up with our crazy travel style and enjoys our favorite parts of traveling: historical sites, yummy food, and good wine. 

Somehow we booked first class on the flight to Kyoto.  We aren't sure how that happened, but we will take it!

I love this photo!  My little world traveler

We made it to Kyoto! After meeting Aunt Murf in the train station for dinner, we made our way back to our apartment in the city.

We got up early for our half day temple walking tour.  The gardens were all so beautiful.

At this temple, we got to see so many monks gathering for some sort of ceremony.  It was super interesting.

Nanzen-ji Temple

This was a traditional Japanese style home, occupied by and looked after by a monk.

Enormous bamboo in the Fushimi Inari Taisha, an important Shinto Shrine

Each one of these arches is donated by a family or company as an offering.

Thousands of arches, and almost as many tourists!  Hurry up and snap!

We found a yummy little bakery in a train station we passed on the way to our Geisha performance.  We just decided to grab a quick bite and enjoy our goodies right here.  We got so many stares.  We later found out that you don't really eat and drink in public outside of a restaurant in Japan...oops!

A groups of ladies going to see the geisha show

Tea ceremony.  We broke the rules with the photo!

Mike booked tickets to the opening performance of an amazing Geisha show.  This production happens just once a year, and for only three weeks.  It was put on by the institution that trains the Geishas in Kyoto.

It was beautiful

The view from up high in a temple we visited after the Geisha show

Amazing gardens

We then FROZE at Nijo Castle 

Cherry blossoms

The next morning, starting out on our 8 hour walking tour!  The very impressive Nanzenji Temple

Some ceremony even our tour guide has never even had the pleasure to witness

19 century aqueduct

More koi fish

Eliza "praying" :-)

Bamboo!

We saw a real wedding procession leaving one of the temples

We concluded our tour in Gion, the Geisha district.  This is a Geisha's home.

Olivia, the super traveler, walked the entire 8 hour tour without one single complaint.  She is just amazing.  Her zest for travel and experiencing different cultures is truly remarkable.

Enjoying Shabu-Shabu.  They bring you thin slices of raw meat and you cook it yourself in a pot of boiling water on the table.  Eliza was free, but I think they lost money that night because of her. It was so yummy!

The taxis in Kyoto were all driven by elderly Japanese men with lace covered seats.  The taxis themselves were 1980's sedans, all impeccably maintained.  Interesting

Bullet train to Tokyo

Waiting for our train

Sleepy girl