Kyoto

@piet is currently in Japan, which I'm super envious of. I totally fell in love with Kyoto while I was there and wanted to share the places I thought were really special

Arashiyama

This is an area with a lot of temples, but I went for the bamboo forest, which did not disappoint.

There were also some temples with amazing gardens

Temples

I was a massive snob and was like "pff, how many temples can you see... given there are dozens here they can't all be that great". I feel like suchs a doofus. I went to this one temple on a hill, just tagging along with someone who was in the hostel I was in Kiyomizu-dera Temple.
Stunning. In retrospect Japan taught me a lot about architecture. There's a body experience to being in and around certain structures. This place was made all out of wood.

Nightlife

When I went, there were young people by the river playing music, and hanging out. This river was niceto talk at night, but here's where these photos were taken https://goo.gl/maps/rrdfp6bTuAB2 . There's a Lawson you can buy beer at right next to here and then drink it by the river.

There are also some really sweet little alleyways ... like this one https://goo.gl/maps/QtXzYMeZ4Nt which is nearby

Gion Matsuri

There was a festival on while I was there. Everyone was wearing kimono / yukata, inluding in the clubs while out dancing. I think it might be a month after you're there Piet

The Moss Temple

This is a temple you have to write to ask to attend (in japanese). A friend helped me with that. There are a bunch of temples which are themed like "grasshopper temple". Some of theme are open to the public, and some ofthem are practicing buddhist temples - I was politely turned away from one, where a monk asked if I was buddhist and whether I was seeking counsel from a monk. They weren't being jerks, they looked really busy.

Kurama / Kifune

I'd highly recommend this area. I took a train up to Kurama and walked over to Kifune shrine. It was getting dark as I headed up the temple steps in Kurama - a local stopped me and said "it's going to get dark, it's late". I thanked them and headed into the forest, which promptly got dark. I was running to beat the light.

Arriving in Kifune on dusk was amazing though. The shrine was tastefully lit, and the trees were beautiful. If I could go back I'd love to stay a night in this area. I was magical... and @Alanna tells me there's an onsen somewhere (not sure if it's kurama or kifune side).

I had my longboard so skateboarded down on the road of the Kifune side, which was super sweet
If you don't mind a nauseatingly unstable video of that, see here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvxvbmzICXY

aahhhhh! I'm so envious
thanks for positing photos @piet