It’s cycling day in Kyoto! Well, for us anyway. We couldn’t resist the idea of spending the day on two wheels, especially since it only costs £3 to hire one of the entire day (shop closes at 12.30am!)
We got fitted out and headed to our 10am appointment at the Imperial Palace. The tour was huge (100+ people) and the guide delightful, even in the baking heat. Sadly, because the Emperor still uses part of it, we only saw it from the outside, but even then it was deeply impressive. I am still not convinced about living at ground level as, even from an early age, I couldn’t sit cross-legged in school assembly. But I suppose you would cope if you never had a chair to sit on…. This is where the emperors were enthroned, save for the current one, who had the thrones helicoptered to Tokyo for the ceremony in 1990.
We survived the hour-long tour, unwilted ourselves with a bottle of ‘Sweat’ and rode to the riverbank. Apparently the dyeing industry virtually destroyed the river with pollution but the city council engaged in a restoration campaign about twenty years ago. The result is a lovely bankside path with little parks and rest-stops, and lots of stepping stone crossings. The heat meant our afternoon was spent hanging out in lovely cafes before retiring to the river for sunset. It was utterly blissful to watch Dominic and other kids playing on the stepping-stones, trying to compete with the herons and egrets in fishing. It was almost worth the mosquito bites!
The evening meal was sourced locally, close to our B&B. Dominic and I tucked into a steaming bowl of curry rice topped with chicken and prepared for the following day.
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