varjohaltia | Japan, April 6th: Heian Jingu, Shimogamo-jinja and Kamogawa

Another major shrine I hadn't seen on my last visit was the Heian Jingu. As Kyoto was entering prime cherry blossom season, and it together with a nearby canal, were known to be prime viewing spots, it seemed like a good time to go. There's a little bit of a walk involved from the nearest train station, but it takes you past a few museums and the zoo as well, so it's easy to make a full day of the visit. We did, however, skip on the museums and animals. Unfortunately the cherry blossoms in the Heian garden were still budding, but the shrine and garden certainly were impressive and worth a visit.

The little bushes behind the ablution dragon are in fact not cherry blossoms; the white is strips of paper with fortunes on them. (Omikuji) Good fortunes go with the recipient, bad fortunes are left at the shrine for purification.

On the way back we stopped at a random restaurant (Cafe Rose) for a bit of a bite; I opted for yummy udon:

Since we were nearby, we returned to the Kamogawa (duck river) and made a quick dash to yet another so far unexplored shrine, Shimogamo-jinja, one of the many Unesco World Heritage sites and among the older relics in the area.

Also, as we crossed to Kamogawa, it was easy to see that cherry blossoms along its banks were coming along quite nicely, and the blue tarps dotting the landscape with students having snacks and libations under the cherry blossoms while the sun was setting seemed like a perfect way to spend an evening.