We were to leave our backpackers' hostel, J-Hoppers Hiroshima after a 3 night stay, for our next destination, Kyoto(京都This was the room we stayed in for the past 3 nights. A simple table, tatami floors, and comfortable futons(traditional japanese beds).
A simple yet elegant lamp hanging on the ceiling
My last view of Hiroshima station
Breakfast was a bento shared between the 3 of us
A packet of Kit kat that we've tried on the train.. Brandy and Orange.. I brought 6 pkts back home.. Feel fortunate, if u're one of the receipients.
We had to switch trains at this station, Shin-Kobe. For your info, all Shinkansen stations are labelled with 'Shin' in front of the name of the place. Shinkansen trains travel on.. their own tracks. 
Upon arrival at Kyoto station, we came across this confectionery shop.. With the beautiful cakes once again on display.. 
A close up look at some of them..
They're beautiful, aren't they? I'm hungry.. Anyway, after checking in at J-Hoppers Kyoto, we had to 'dash' for our next destination, to visit 3 world heritage sites. This was a short vid of the view we had from the train we took to the temples area.. I want to operate the train too!As time was against us, we had a very 'simple' lunch. Mine was a chocolate chip bun similar to balex's melon bun. See how small my hand appeared as compared to the bun?
It was an afternoon full of navigation exercises. In fact, i think we have become experts at reading maps after this trip. The temples were actually located quite far from the stop we alighted, n we had to navigate for half an hour before we reached the first one. This was a map on the street, showing the map of the residents in the area. Their locations were marked out by their surnames. Imagine having 1 in Singapore.. I can visualise a lot of 'Tan'..
Some nice Japanese houses along the way.. See! no gates or grilles!
The surname of the family is displayed on each of their main entrances..
After a tiring 1/2 hour navigation, n asking of directions from the locals, we finally reached our first destination, Ninna-ji(仁和寺
Pagodas.. a common sight for temples, as i'd mentioned before... 
Maple leaves again!
A short walk up the hilly area, and we arrived at Ryoan-ji(龍安寺)
This temple is best known for its Rock Garden. It is a Zen garden with 15 rocks laid carefully in 5 groupings.. It is a garden meant for visitors to gaze at it.. to imagine what it signified.. But as we were rushing for time.. I didn't really manage to appreciate the beauty of it. Now then I realised that.. It's amazing how the sand could stay unruffled over the years, even as rain pours on them. 
Simple.. yet so artistic..
The people who had to luxury of really gazing at the garden..
This is a 'Tsukubai', a stone-wash basin, with inscription of 'I learn only to be contented'. Exactly what I felt. Contented, even if only for a moment.
Admiring the lush greenery was relaxing too..
A big bell at Ryoan-ji..
It was really THE amazing race. We were so afraid that the next temple would be closed b4 we reached. I led the way, at breakneck speed, to go to our highlight for the day - Rokuon-ji(鹿苑寺
Fred was fascinated by this.. 'michelin' fan.. if u can understand what i'm referring to..
Okie, my friends been requesting for pictures of japanese gals.. here are some.. no doubt 'accidental'..
A glimpse of the beautiful... Temple :) 
Yea, this was what we came for.. Rokuon-ji is best known for this gold leaf-covered pavilion - Kinkaku(金閣). Unfortunately, entry into the pavilion wasn't allowed. We could only gaze at the beauty from far.
Yay! I luv gold!
The temple security guard helped us with this picture..
Just so golden! Just so special!
The back view of the majestic temple
A closer look at the roof top..
This was the Chinese phoenix that settled on top of the roof.
I helped a Japanese couple to take a picture.. n they returned us the favour..
Ok, my 2nd attempt at approaching strangers for pictures.. Sadly, the stranger whom i approached to help us take this picture couldnt stop shaking.. even my fx30 couldn't fix the shakes! I want a refund!
After completing the amazing race, albeit a little behind time, we went back to our hostel to rest for a while, catch a breath, before we took a bus to Gion in Kyoto, hoping to catch the Geisha performance. Unfortunately, we took the bus in the wrong direction( we had 50% of getting it correct!), and ended up at the place when the show had already started. Oh, something interesting about this picture. Opposite the area where Geishas appear(on the right of the picture), was an area which i felt was their red-light district. The gals were dressed provocatively, and.. there seemed to be 'pimps' on the street as well. The 'red lights' on the street seemed to indicate that.
This is a Kabuki theatre, opposite the bus stop that we alighted. Inside, hosts dramas performed by kabuki actors. By the way, all the casts in the dramas were to be male only, even for the female roles. Unfortunately, we didn't catch a kabuki performance for this trip.
Though disappointed that we missed the show, we bought the tickets for the performance 2 days later. And dinner was settled at this soba shop, situated at the corner of the street.
Fred's soba set.. 3 types of soba!
Balex's set meal.. soba n don(rice)! How filling it was!
My simple udon meal..
On our way back, we were unfamiliar with the ticketing system of Kyoto(we used something like 'ez-link' for transport in Tokyo). When u see attractive Japanese gals on the streets, there were 2 things u could do. One was to take pictures, and the other was to ask for help. We asked 2 gals regarding the ticketing system, and they were readily obliged. I think, they even skipped their train just to wait for us to board ours. How nice! 
If i'm not wrong, all trains in Japan come with cushioned seats as well.. They know the commuters deserved better..
This was what i've had for supper.. an eclair longer than my hand! Japanese can really eat!
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