Day one: We took off on our five hour drive to Kyoto after Peter got off work. Almost immediately we took a different route than we had planned on and were totally afraid we were going to end up somewhere crazy. But kept on for the next five hours regardless. Mainly because we were taking the toll roads and you can’t really turn around on the toll roads. We saw signs for a city near where we were going so we just prayed we would end up close. Luckily we popped out right where we needed to be. Thank you parallel running toll roads!!! It was a little scary off and on but I had a good feeling we’d figure it out. Peter is super smart when it comes to directions and map readings. Me on the other hand. I panic. I’m always turned around and mistake left from right. But for some reason I’m the navigator. We won’t get into that… ya’ll are more interesting in the sight seeing. So we finally made it to Kyoto close to 11. We checked into our hotel and off to sleep we went.
Day two: We woke up bright and early; excited to see what the day had in store for us. Our first stop was the Kyoto Handicraft Center. This was a super neat place. It had lots of Japanese goods to buy like jewelry, swords, kimonos and all different types of nick knacks. There was a coffee shop/internet café and a craft section which is what I went there for. You can learn how to make cloisonné accessories, 
woodblock printing, incense bag making, dorei (clay bell) doll painting, shichimi (Japanese spice) blending, spinning top making, gold powder drawing, folding fan painting, or damascene accessory making. I was excited to learn a Japanese craft. But first we had to feed the tummies, so we ate at the buffet there. And then Cora had other plans for us. She started getting fussy so we left and decided to drive around to see what we could find. But first we stopped by the Kumano Shrine which is just a few minutes walking from the Handicraft center. The Kumano Shrine is a Shinto shrine to which five deities are dedicated. People worship this srine for the benefits of good marriage, easy delivery in childbirth, health and long life.
After that we jumped in our car with intent to find the Kinkakuji Temple or the “Golden Pavillion”. On the way we happened upon this jewel to the right. The Ninnaji Temple. We didn’t go into it but just the entrance itself is pretty impressive! And the big scary warrior guys were pretty awesome looking as well. 
The next place we went was the Ryoanji Temple. Well. Cora was sleeping so I stayed in the car and Peter went in. I was okay with that though. I didn’t really care to see this one. The Ryoanji Temple or The Temple of the Dragon at Peace is a Zen temple.
This is a map of the grounds.
This is the rock garden used for meditation and contemplation. There are 15 boulders placed in such a way so at any angle (minus directly above) you can only see 14 of the boulders at a time. 
Not sure what this is. A good picture regardless.
A wash basin used to cleanse your hands and mouth before entering a Buddhist temple. 
The building in the background is the Kuri, the main building of the temple.
The last place we went was the Kinkakuji Temple or properly known as the Rokuon-ji Temple. It was a gorgeous setting, famous for the golden home. A comfortable villa in the 1220’s for Kintsune Saionji.
Peter throwing coins into the stone baskets.
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