Emily woke us at 7.30 and once we were ready we went out for breakfast to a branch of Starbucks in the nearby mall. I was pleased that after a poor day of eating on friday she wolfed a 100g bag of prunes before tucking into a banana and our berry pancakes. After my interesting exploration of the station building by night, I thought Emily would enjoy riding the escalators and running round the roof garden and the skyway. She wasn't quite as excited about it as I had hoped, though I myself thought it was a lot more mundane by day. She kept talking about Kyoto Tower, which is just across the street, so as we had time to spare before Nick was to arrive I agreed we would take her there.
The tower was built in the 60s and is said to be modelled on a lighthouse, which is the vague impression that it gives, though Nick says it reminds him more of a candle. Anyway, it seems very out of place in a city of history and culture, but makes a distinctive landmark all the same and provides good all-round views over the city and surrounding hills. The observation deck is a circular protrusion set at 100m above ground. We spent a long time up there looking at the many temples and shrines around the city with the free telescopes.
Emily was very pleased because she could see a large 'white lady' statue (Kannon-sama, Goddess of Mercy).
There is one just like it at Ofuna which we have passed many a time and which she always looks out for. With its completely encircling wooded hills, Kyoto is certainly a pleasant city.
Once Nick arrived we dumped his things in the hotel room and went for a quick bite to eat in a sandwich cafe, wanting to make the most of his brief overnight sojourn and not waste time eating fancy meals. We took a taxi over to Kiyomizudera, the huge shrine complex in the eastern hills area, finding it abuzz with many tourists, despite the lack of cherry blossom.
Emily succumbed to the baby carrier without complaint so must have been tired, and after a while she dropped off, as we strolled around in the warm sunshine.
We walked down the narrow giftshop-lined streets before Emily woke up very upset. Finding ourselves outside a sweet little courtyard garden with a small pond, we popped in and eventually the sight of a pair of ducks there calmed her down.
As it was quite warm we were then tempted to coffee and dessert at an outdoor table in another attractive garden down the street.
At the end of the road we found that we were very close to the Kannon-sama statue, so diverted quickly to show it to Emily. The afternoon was progressing apace, so we jumped into another taxi to get us to our final destination, Nanzenji, as quickly as possible. It was really tranquil there, and as day turned to dusk it emptied out so that by the time we left we had the complex virtually to ourselves. Stepping through the huge wooden entrance gate, we found that maples and cherries are the main trees there, but even though neither type had leaves or blossom it was an attractive place to look around, with vibrant mosses to add a little colour.
In the grounds there is a red brick aquaduct, which was built in the 1880s and does actually still channel water.
Above there we found a small and little-frequented shrine with nice garden. The sky was growing heavy with dusk and impending rain, so we began to make our way back, with much diversion on Emily's part as we did so.
Once more, we bagged a taxi to get us back to the station and were glad we did as it began to spit with rain. Fed up with the mall, we decided to aim high and go up to the restaurants in the top of the station. That was a great idea, as we found a decent tapas bar. Emily just about ate enough from the many small dishes that we ordered. I had trouble explaining that she couldn't have any of my cassis and soda, as it must have looked for all the world like squash to her.
After we got Emily asleep Mum babysat while Nick and I went back to the restaurant floor and found an izakaya, where we drank sake and ate chargrilled veggies and other bar delicacies.
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