On our final day in Japan, we had a little time to relax and take in a couple of more sites in Kyoto. One of the most memorable people I met on my trip was Kay. I insisted on capturing a portrait of her and she insisted on letting me know she was too old to be photographed. I would not be denied. This is the same person that insisted on me taking an umbrella when it was raining and was concerned about me when I got back. I gave her the umbrella I bought that day as a gift to remember me by.
The Three Sisters Annex Hotel was a wonderful authentic place to stay. The most unique thing about it is that there's a curfew. The gates close at 11:30 pm and if you're not back in time, you're out of luck. We all made it back in time every night but we heard rumors that some others on a previous trip were not so lucky.
Our final visit was to the philosopher's walk. From Wikipedia: The Philosopher's Walk is a pedestrian path that follows a cherry-tree-lined canal in Kyoto, between Ginkaku-ji and Nanzen-ji. The route is so-named because the influential 20th century Japanese philosopher and Kyoto University professor Nishida Kitaro is thought to have used it for daily meditation. It passes a number of temples and shrines such as Hōnen-in, Ōtoyo Shrine, and Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji. It takes about 30 minutes to complete the walk, although many people spend more time visiting the sights along the way.
There were so many flowers every where we went. Joe in our group was notorious for snapping pictures of just about every new type of flower we passed by.
Most of the animals were extremely domesticated and quite friendly. The three little kitty's were quite content to let me walk right up to them while they were napping so I could take a picture.
After about 22 hours of traveling, back in time mind you, I made it home to my wonderful family waiting for me at the airport. They were a sight for sore eyes. My only wish is that they could have joined me in my journey but my hope is that I was able to "Capture Japan" well enough so they can see what I saw through my lens.
