I went an entire day without getting lost!

Mostly I just stuck to buses and trains today, to get in as much of my remaining list as possible. In the morning I went to Kinkakuji Temple (the Golden Pavilion), since it's probably the most famous site in Kyoto. It was pretty, but I think it's a little overrated. The crowds were insane, and other than the temple itself, there really isn't much there. The garden is pretty bland compared to many of the others around.

I then took a bus up to the an out of the way town/district to the northwest called Arashiyama. It's kind of a neat place. It certainly has a touristy feel, but there aren't any foreign people there. I kind of get the feeling that it's one of those out of the way places that all the Kyoto locals go to to relax and get away from the big city. I checked out the Tenryuji Temple/Garden, wandered through some bamboo groves, and then took a stroll along the riverside back into central Kyoto.

By the time I got back to Kyoto Station it was starting to get dark out, but I had enough time to get in one more place. I took a bus to Kiyomizu-dera Temple, which is another of the very famous Kyoto landmarks. Parts of it were hard to see because of the dark, but it did give some great views down at the city.

I was originally going to take the Shinkansen to Tokyo tomorrow around noon, but now I'm planning to take the overnight bus (which is half the price). That means I have one more day to do something here. I still need to decide what I want to do in Tokyo, which might change my plans yet again, but that's where things stand now.