It’s 6 AM when the alarm goes off and I feel like I have walked every one of those steps I have been bragging about. Because everyone gave us the advice of going to the bamboo forest early we set out a 6:30 WITHOUT coffee. Since the sun was barely up the photo opportunities were limited until after 7:30. What was not limited were the amount of people with cell phones taking pictures of each other with the bamboo as the back drop and 50 other people in the background also taking pictures of themselves. If this is what it was like at 7 AM, I hate to think of the amount of crowds later.

Finally the sun began to rise and offered us better opportunities. We walked along the path but never did find the bridge that everyone takes pictures of. Perhaps we were in the wrong bamboo forest. I wish I had gone to a different site that offered a temple and a small bamboo forest with (it said in the guide book) few visitors.

The red maple trees with the sunlight were exquisite. The beauty of them was hard to catch on camera. We walked through the bamboo, then in a more open area where the maple trees displayed their grandeur and out did the bamboo forest. Frankly I could have stayed in bed and not gone to the bamboo forest as I did not find it that exciting and picture taking was near impossible with all of the people.

We spent the rest of the day walking Old Kyoto and going to the Kyoto history museum. I came away wondering if all of the people who were living centuries ago in all cultures were at the same time period making pottery, bronze work, and creating images of humans. I find the similarities of the work, the use of stones etc. surprisingly the same, especially the human form.

I will admit after two days of walking 7 miles each day and piling another 6 miles today, I am feeling it in all of my bones. Tomorrow we move on by train and to a ceramic workshop.