I finally got to travel outside of Hikone! Kyoto is about an hour away by train, so it's not too bad. I went with a German friend, Alex. We didn't set out with any super specific goals, just the bamboo forest and the Golden Pavillion. That left us with plenty of time to just wander and explore.

We found some temples and a lovely path that led us to the bamboo forest. Now I had never even thought about what a bamboo forest would be like, so I was delighted at their spooky vibe. I don't know any other way to describe it, but it was wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed it even though my phone camera would never do it justice. After the forest we stumbled upon a large set of stairs that led to a hiking trail. Neither of us were prepared to hike so we continued to wander.

We found more temples and paths that led us further up a mountain. It was absolutely stunning. A beautiful as it is green, I want to go back in the fall. It will be incredible. I also saw a cat for the first time since arriving! I love cats, so this was very exciting to me. At the top of this path, we could look over the entire city. It was really cool.

Then we made our way to the Golden Pavillion, which was quite impressive. It was also much more crowded than the other places we'd been. We then got lost and just wandered around the city hoping to find something cool before things started closing.

We found a castle that we barely made it too before they stopped allowing people to enter the actual castle. The artwork was mesmerizing though we weren't allowed to take photos. The grounds inside the walls surrounding the castle were also really nice. I love that they have these spaces reserved within the cities. It's quiet and peaceful, but you can still see the city around it.

It was a really great end to the day. I was quite exhausted by the time we got back. I fell asleep with all the lights still on. Definitely worth it.