Wanderlust: Ginkakuji Area/Kyoto Botanical Garden

Today's forecast was rainy but it will clear after an hour so. 1st stop for this day is the Keage Incline, this is a good spot for Cherry Blossoms. We went here last 2023 autumn but while there is foliage, this spot is best for Spring season as the old railway track is lined with Cherry Blossoms. Read somewhere that there are 90 Somei Yoshino sakura. I haven't counted it though..

We did enjoy this spot even though it was drizzling. We even spotted a couple in their wedding dress attire doing some photoshoot. And yeah, how I wished I brought my transparent umbrella. It should have been a perfect addition to the mood.

Keage Incline

Okazaki Sakura Corridor

Just a short walk from Keage Incline is the Okazaki Sakura Corridor. There is a boat that you can ride to view the Sakura from the river but we opted to just view it from the street and the bridge.

My friend and I are taking our pictures here alternately when a Pinay spotted us and offered to take a picture of us. Kabayan! She's riding her bike and probably was running an errand as she is on her house clothes.

Philosopher's Path
Our itinerary for this day is jampacked so we reserved our energy and booked Uber to Philosopher's path. I've been to Kyoto a few times before and I've been wanting to visit Philosopher's path but could not do so as usually it's autumn and was told this place is best explored in Spring. And true enough! The walk around this area is such a pleasant experience. Better for couples, walking while holding hands under the shade of the cute Sakura trees.

No wonder Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitaro used this path daily for contemplation and meditation. The path really lives up to it's name. This path is 2-kilometer-long that follows a canal lined with cherry trees, connecting Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) and Nanzen-ji Temple.

As a general rule in our travel, we take our lunch an hour earlier than the most people, so at 11AM we are already at the restaurant ordering our food. In this area, you can find souvenir shops, restaurants, and coffee shops. Here's what I had for lunch:

Ginkakuji Temple (Silver Pavilion)

I have seen the Golden Pavillion last Autumn and the experience was surreal. Like it really left something in me I will not forget. With Ginkakuji though, it was not that amazing but it's still great. I like that we are able to hike up a little and see parts of Kyoto just like in Kyumizudera. I wish there was a Cherry Blossom near the Pavilion just to spark it up.

view from the top

After hiking up a little, we got a little tired and ordered ice cream just outside the gate of Ginkakuji.

We then went souvenir shopping at that same alley before heading to the Botanical Garden. My friend got a Kimmidoll around while I got the mini version for the Keychain. If you are looking for Kimmidoll, I guess better buy here as I was not able to find it in the succeeding days during our trip. For some reason we never took a picture of the items..hahaha.

Kyoto Botanical Garden

If you love flowers, you'll definitely love the Botanical Garden. It's like a theme park but for nature lovers as the individual area boasts of different kinds of plants and trees. They have the Rose Garden, Peony Garden, Cherry trees area, Ume Grove. There are tulips too near the Cherry Trees area.