Kyoto is pretty dead at 6am, even the salary men arent up yet. However, its a good time to go look at some temples before it gets crowded (if you can open your eyes enough). So we walked to some near the train station but they were all a little under-constructiony. Not so good for taking photos. I really was starting to dislike Kyoto at this point. A few temples and parks after, Kyoto started to wake up so we went to the museum of costume which had a small but really interesting exhibition on the Tale of Genji (some slightly seedy Japanese tale) and the costumes people wore. There was also an opportunity to play dress-up with some full-scale clothes so I got to make myself look important for a bit.
After lunch, we went to check in at our 'Bola Bola' guest house which is a pretty nice Japanese styled one (tatami floor futons, sliding doors) which I quite like. The woman gave us a map of the neighbouring town which had a lot of sightseeing places so we headed over after a rest. It was more like the Kyoto I had imagined. Old houses, small winding streets, forests and more temples and shrines than you could ever need. This started to bring my opinion of Kyoto back up. The main town with the station, is a bit of a hell hole, but it seems going outwards away from it, you can find some really nice villages. This one even had a bamboo tunnel!
In the evening, we went to a grill-type place for yakisoba and okonomikyaki. The okonomiyaki seemed to have legs (well tentacles) coming out of it in all directions so I got most of that to myself, which suits me. I was also quite pleased with myself to read the handwritten menu in Japanese and find something that both of us would eat.
So today has definitely been one of the better days in Kyoto, and I wish I had of stayed here the other 2 nights rather than in the center.
