It's time for another travel entry!

Still in Kyoto my friends and me decided to split up for that day as our plans were just so different.
I wanted to see as much as possible and they wanted to sleep as long as possible XD
Furthermore they wanted to go to a few sightseeing spots that I've already been to (Golden Temple etc.), so it was a good idea to split up for one day

Kyoto Day 3 (April 7th, 2010):



Destination #1:The Imperial Palace
Actually the "Imperial Palace" was NOT on my plan for that day at all. I just went to the tourist information center to get some other information.
My original plan was to finally go to Amanohashidate to get my "3 best views of Japan" collection finished, but as you can see the weather was not on my side, so I had to cancel that trip :/
At the tourist information center I was told that from today on the Imperial Palace will be open for the public for a few days, so OF COURSE I took the chance and went there.
It was not originally on my plan because I've already been there a few years ago, but of course not INSIDE!! What a great chance! :D



As some of you might know, the park around the palace is HUGE! Really HUGE! And in spring very beautiful with a lot of cherry blossom trees (*_*)v



Finally arrived in front of the palace. So lucky, huh???
There were soooooooo many people, mainly Japanese! No wonder for thehm it's a rare event, too! ^-^



The inside is really huge! So many things to see!!
Luckily we were allowed to take photos of everything (^-^)v



I fell in love with all the painted walls and doors!! <3



A lot of people almost everywhere.



Well, not EVERYWHERE... XD ...
And I like that cherry blossom tree in the photo!! <3





There were several smaller and bigger gardens in there. It was really interesting!!





Looks like quite an old building. Am not sure if it's still being used.



Another garden :)





These huge dancing dolls were interesting, too. Forgot their name, though ^^;



Random shot: Close-up of one of the roofs.



Close-up of one of the painted doors/walls!





Yet another garden.











And then I left the huge park with the Imperial Palace again.
After losing my way (once you're out of the park it's hard to know where you are XDDDD) I finally found a bus that would take me to my next destination.



I had to wait for the bus quite a while and while waiting I took this photo.
This was in front of a flower shop right next to the bus stop.
German again! XD



After quite some time I finally arrived at Ryoan-ji (竜安寺). A very beautiful Zen Temple.





A lot of flowers, a lot of pink.
The colors look a bit sad, maybe because the weather was not good??! XD







I love these dragons!! I have a photo of the twin dragons on the wall in Gion, too, you'll see it some other time ^-^
Here's only one dragon on the photo :)





Gawd! How I love Japanese gardens!! (^-^)



A very spacy and small pagoda :D



At first I wasn't even sure if it's a pagoda, but yes it is! XD
First time I saw pagoda written in katakana! Usually they have their own word for it in Japanese. I wonder why it's different here!?!



VERY interesting colors!!



It was a mix of clouds and sun and it offered very nice light for my photos ^-^





Paradise!!! (*-*)
Honestly, I wonder if it would get boring if we had pink blossoms on trees all year round?! :)





I think I don't have to tell you, because you can see it clearly on the photos, but Ryoanji is really beautiful and definitely worth a visit!
Especially in spring ... and autumn - I assume.







I was already close to the exit, but for some reason I couldn't stop taking photos! XD



Finally managed to get out of there. Random photo I took on my way. Yes, I walked to the next destination.



Random German moment again XD



And then I finally arrived at Ninnaji Temple (仁和寺).
It's another large temple complex which is often overlooked by tourists.



Stalker shot! XD





I was so hungry that I left the temple complex before going inside where you have to pay an entrance fee and decided to eat something first :)
Kitsune Udon (fox noodle soup) - very famous in Kansai (Kyoto, Osaka), simple and yummie!



Then, I entered one of the places where you had to pay an entrance fee. This is what I saw close to the entrance. As I thought it's beautiful, I took a photo :)
And right next to it ....



.. I saw THIS! XD



Again, really beautifully colored doors/walls.







The weather was finally getting better and the garden in there was extremely awesome as well :D



And there was a pagoda!! (*-*)v



Next stop within the temple facilities. Here you also had to pay an extra entrance fee. It was the place where the 5-storied pagoda (we saw on the photo earlier) is.



But first, I was busy flirting with some cherry blossoms again XD



Scary guardian.



The trees you see in the background are a special type of cherry blossom trees. They bloom later than all the others. As you can see they're not in full bloom yet at all!



Can you see the pagoda? XD



So beautiful! (*o*)









Don't you agree that the photos look much better when the sun is shining and you have bright blue sky in the background? :D



I'm glad that the weather became much better later that day. The photos are definitely better than the ones I took in the morning, no?





Random.



Yeah, I can't stop! They're just too beautiful! <3





After asking somebody who was selling entrance tickets at Ninnaji where I could go next (aka what was close, not too expensive and easily accessible from where I was now), I decided to go to a Tenmangu Shrine nearby :)
This one was called Kitano Tenmangu.
I really like Tenmangu Shrines :D





Maybe I like them so much because they always have cows that you can touch/pet in order to get fortune and good luck coming to you :D









Like I said. Cows everywhere! XD





And there were no tourists at all :D :D Yay!!



At that point the sky was really awesome, too! ^-^









While waiting for my bus I wandered around in the small neighborhood streets. Really cute and tiny ^-^



Back at Kyoto Station where I was supposed to meet my friends because we wanted to go and eat running-sushi together.
As I was EXTREMELY hungry and I knew I would have to spend a fortune if I'm so hungry, I decided to eat something before going to the running-sushi place.
Like last year they were selling "sakura cake" at Starbucks again!
I made the mistake to drink white mocca with it ... it was just too much and too sweet in the end XDDD GAH!! Stupid mEh! XD



I met my friends and we went to a running-sushi place right next to Kyoto Station. It was extremely full, so we had to wait about 30min. until we could sit down and eat.
One of my friends doesn't eat fish and meat, remember? So I had to order "kappa sushi" (sushi with cucumber only) for her the whole time XDDDD
We others ate everything. I took photos of sushi creations I've never seen before like the one above (miso paste .... was okay, but I don't have to try it again if you ask me! XD)



My idea of eating somewhere else before coming here was good, because as you can see I didn't eat very much! Actually I think I've never been to a running-sushi place and left with so little plates! XD



After eating there we went back home to our hotel and went to bed XD
The next day we went to Gion. Thus the next travel entry will be all about Gion

Thanks for reading!