Wednesday – March 30, 2016
We had a very busy last day in the Arashiyama district of Kyoto thanks to our wonderful local guide, Ayano Inami.
We entered the beautiful Sogenchi Garden at Tenryu-ji Zen Temple which was founded in 1339 and is a World Heritage Site.
We took the purple tram to the last stop and then took a taxi to the Kyoto Handicraft Center.
We made a few purchases then rode a taxi back to the hotel to prepare for our farewell dinner in the Gion District.
It was a pleasant evening and we walked around the district admiring the Sakura – cherry blossoms. We waited two weeks for “Hanami” – the Japanese custom of viewing cherry blossoms. It was said that hanami began more than one thousand years ago when aristocrats enjoyed looking at the beautiful blossoms and wrote poetry.
We strolled and mingled with tourists and locals to admire and photograph the delicate pink flowers. It was a perfect way to celebrate our last night in Japan.