January 19th (Tuesday)

We started off today with a traditional style breakfast. I wouldn’t know what is served because I opted for an extra hour of sleep! I have had a traditional breakfast and do not enjoy what is served, so I decided sleep was more important.

We took of to our first site, Fushimi Inari Taisha, which is what I did my presentation over. It was by far the best shrine we have seen so far! Afterwards we went to a Japanese tea ceremony and got to try some of the tea they made on site. The methods they used to conduct the ceremony were different, but it was neat to experience their was of doing things.

We headed over to the kiyomizudera shrine and hiked around there for about an hour or so. We got to go down to a natural spring nearby and drink from it. It was really good so I decided to fill up my water bottle why I was there! Then we headed over to a Zen Meditation garden and tried to meditate. I have never been more uncomfortable in my life as I could not sit in the positions they asked me to sit in, for 2 fifteen-minuet sessions. Then we headed back and had a wonderful dinner that hit the spot! I took a long shower and relaxed in the spa for a while, and then headed for bed.

We only have three real days left in Japan. I’ve definitely had a wonderful time here and I look forward to what is left of the trip! Tomorrow we will spend the morning in Nara and then hop on a bullet train to Hiroshima! I’m really excited to get to go there!