If you're following along with the Scripture Memory / Dwell Richly printable, here's the verse for week 4:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
The lovely foliage and views in Southern Higashiyama in Kyoto, Japan.
Welcome to the second part of S. Higashiyama. I'm not gonna lie, we actually have no idea what this temple is called. It's been around for hundreds of years, so surely someone can tell us what it is, right?
How we ended up here: Remember how I said 'we followed the walking tours described in the Lonely Planet Kyoto travel guide (with a few detours, of course)'? Well, this was one of those detours. JD found a path at the top of the cemetery behind Chion-In that led to the woods (it sounds a lot creepier than it really was). So we follow this path with no clue of where it's leading us. Halfway up, I try to coerce JD to turn around but lo-and-behold, someone is walking down the mountain and persuades us to keep going up because there are some amazing views (beginning to sound like the blowhole detour in Hawaii, right?). We keep trekking up and see this amazing temple... with a chainlink fence surrounding it. It took us a solid thirty minutes before we could find the entrance. But we did. And it was well worth it.
This is also where a lady told me I was pronouncing "Arigatou" and "Kyoto" incorrectly. [The link will pull up the video we made at this location. Please disregard the knappy hair and the horrific pronunciations (it was only the first day! I promise it got better with time.)]
#jitneysjourneys
Higashiyama New construction at the front of the temple.
Higashiyama The massive platform where you can look out onto the city of Kyoto.
What did you eat? This was typically one of the first questions people asked us when we returned. Answer: Noodles. Lots and lots of noodles.
Kasagi-Ya It took us a few laps up and down the street before we found this dessert place suggested by the Lonely Planet guide. Also, well worth it. We drank our fair share of hot tea and enjoyed a couple of interesting desserts . Please take notice of JD's giant hands holding the tiny, delicate tea pot. Once again, we were giants.
Omen Kodai-Ji These were some of the best udon noodles we had on the entire trip; and trust me, we had a lot of udon noodles. They have a list of suggestions when making your noodles. If you go to Kyoto, you must eat here.
Omen Kodai-Ji The udon noodle setup, complete with vegetables, sesame seeds and kinpira. And, of course, warm washcloths to wash your hands. The Japanese are super clean. We loved it.
Issen Yoshoku This happened. If you've talked to us about our trip in person, you've heard the story of the mannequin. Well, here she is! The story: We walk into this restaurant and notice a mannequin sitting at every table. The waitress then takes us to an empty 10-person picnic style table (except for the mannequin) and motions for JD and me to sit on the same side as each other and to scoot in close to the mannequin. This was potentially one of the most awkward, yet enjoyable, meals we've ever had. We could not stop laughing. JD was a huge fan of their okonomiyaki, which is a mix between a thin pancake and a crepe filled with meat, seafood and veggies. Don't you want to dine with a mannequin now?
