For our last day in Kyoto we decided to go see the Katsura Imperial Villa which contains some of the finest gardens and traditional structures in Japan. I had checked the the online information and found that tours were “first come first served”. The crosstown Hankyu Kyoto subway line made it easy to reach the Katsura station and from there we just had a short walk to our destination.

Which we realized when we arrived was closed on Mondays. Oops. Missed reading that on the website! The gardens near the entrance were certainly lovely, and we admired the way these ancient trees were supported.

So we decided to go and visit the Inari Shrine just south of Kyoto instead. Taking a different route back to the train station, we came across a few small rice fields surrounded by housing. Our first close up look at rice growing!

Near the station, a small temple that looked newly renovated caught our attention.

Wherever you go in Kyoto there is always something interesting to see.

Next post about our Kyoto trip >>> A Thousand Torii…Or Were There Thirty Thousand?