Carmen and Matt's Japan Adventure: Kyoto Encore - Gion District and Tetsugaku-no Michi

For those of you that thought I wouldn't be dedicating a whole post about sakura viewing in Kyoto, you were wrong?! Sakura was so beautiful in Kyoto and I want to share it with all of you!

We saw some amazingly gorgeous sakura in 2 areas of Kyoto: the Gion district where we went for dinner (and famous for romantic strolls along the canal and through the old Japanese streets) and the Tetsugaku-o Michi, otherwise knows as the Path of Philosophy.

We went to Gion first. Gion is famous for its nightlife but also for being able to be entertained by geishas during dinner. In Gion, there are a few streets that are lined with large sakura trees and others that are lined with traditional Japanese wooden houses.

Here are some pictures of the sakura lined streets, and a nearby canal. Our camera does not do it justice. It really was an amazing, beautiful site that everyone should see in their lifetime.

The picture of us was a little blurry. Oh well.

Here are some pictures of the little street alleyways filled with restaurants and the traditional Japanese wooden houses. Typically these would be crammed with people during the day. But at night, they're quite calm and peaceful.

Cool huh?

The next day, we took a stroll down Tetsugaku-no Michi, otherwise known as the Path of Philosophy. It is known as such because a famous Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitaro was known to walk this path during his daily meditation. This path is 2km long and follows a sakura-lined canal in Kyoto, between the Ginkaku-ji and the Nanzen-ji. Enjoy!