We figured we had a morning and perhaps afternoon to explore Kyoto before the typhoon was to pay a visit. The one a few weeks before had hit Osaka pretty bad but this one was expected to miss Kyoto. Plus, we were in a solid hotel. We went to Kizomizudera first, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

we took a cab to Ginkakuji (Silver Temple) and did not spend much time there. I only have a few photos.

We made our way back to the hotel by taxi. We found a huge department store near us and also a grocery store. We did what good Guam girls do when there’s a typhoon coming, get food supplies! While we waited for the storm to pass, I tried to teach them how to play the hanafuda card game that I bought at the department store. The storm passed in the night without incident. This was the same one that hit Okinawa pretty bad, so we did worry. But grateful that it barely affected our trip.

On our fourth day, the itinerary was to do a short hike to the next village. But because of the weather, and also we really liked this town and did not have enough time here the day before, we decided to not take that last leg. We enjoyed our morning here in Narai, even though it was a bit rainy.

There was an option to take a morning hike to this waterfall before heading to the next segment of the trail. Because I didn't take the planned hike the day before, I felt a need to do this. Though it was rainy the day before, this day was gorgeous and clear, so I decided to take this option. My companions chose not to, which was fine. They spent the day in the town, as we did the day before.

When I decided to not renew my lease on my apartment in Guam, I did not know when I would be back in this area again. Take that literally, I really just don't know, but it may be sooner than later. I wanted to do a trip in Asia though, before going back to Hawaii. A friend had been on these self-guided tours with the Oku Japan company and it sounded like something I wanted to do. The company makes all the arrangements for you in terms of train tickets and accommodations. There are self-guided hikes of various lengths and challenge levels that make up the day. I asked if any of my travel buddies wanted to come with me, and 2 of my friends joined me. Though the Oku company is very helpful, giving us comprehensive directions so that we would be successful in walking the trail, we ended up making it a DIY (Do it yourself) tour, for much of it. That's the great thing about the tour, though, it gives you options. In fact, we could choose to start in Tokyo or Kyoto, so we flew into Osaka, and took a bus to Kyoto. Stayed overnight at a hotel that agreed to store our luggage while we were away for the next 3 nights, Kyoto Tower Hotel Annex.