Friday, September 9 It's probably evident from my previous posts, but I'm not the "out-doorsy" type. However, as Joanna is fond of pointing out, I am a "sport" about most things, so when Jo said that she wanted to take a hike through Western Kyoto I agreed to take my new boots out for another spin.
It was a nice change from the insane urban tangle Tokyo and, surprisingly, downtown Kyoto. After a stop at Ryonji temple to see the gardens and shrines we took a taxi to the base of Jingoji temple. We climbed the 500 steps to the top of the temple grounds. There's a place you can buy small clay disks that you hurl over the railing into the ravine below. Supposedly this gets rid of bad karma.
After Jingoji, we essentially followed a hike outlined by the Lonely Planet guide to Japan. We definitely give this mixed reviews. Once our hike was underway, we realized that the guide was a little dodgy on the details. For example, the guide promised that there was a charming "town" on the route. We were a little behind schedule, so we'd hoped that we'd be able to find a taxi or a bus in the "town." What we found was a single street with two closed restaurants, a motorcycle shop, and two toothless locals sitting on produce crates. But, there was a vending machine which was good.
After the hike, we tried to visit a really fun-sounding "monkey park" but it was (wait for it) closed. Instead, we took a great walk through a bamboo forest which almost made up for the monkeys.
Jo, looking glam, at the beginning of the hike.
There are over 500 steps leading up to the Jingoji Shrine.
But the view from the top was worth it.
Jo on the hiking trail. 
Kiyataki River
Me, trying unsuccessfully to look glam, after the hike.
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