We then headed for the Nanzenji Temple which is also a Buddhist temple. It has a very peaceful garden that contains the remains of an emperor. After the temple we went for lunch which is called Yudofu (I believe this translates to warm/hot tofu) which is a completely vegetarian meal that the monks ate. It was really good. It started with a sesame thing that is composed of ground up sesame and it has the consistency of panna cotta also they gave us mountain yam which is something I don't eat- its a ground up vegetable that is super slimy- Kuniko was happy to have to servings of it. After that we were given skewers of grilled tofu with a very interesting and complex green sauce on it that was a little sweet. Then we got hot tofu that is served in a pot of water and kept hot on the table. Overall the quality and flavor of tofu here is vastly superior to what I have had in the US. After that we were given rice, vegetable tempura, and some pickled veggies (which are served with most meals- they pickle all kinds of veggies here- they are really good.After lunch we headed to Kiyomizudera- pure water temple. It is a temple build on the edge of a hill- the architecture is amazing. See pictures below. This region is famous for Kiyomizu pottery and we bought some sake cups and tea mugs.
Then we headed for the last temple of the day- Sanjusangendo Temple. This is one of those experiences that words or a picture can't do it justice. It is a huge building that contains over a thousand gold statues- most are all lined up symetrically in rows and in front there are statues of Hindu gods and figures. It is one of those sights and experiences that blows you away- it was the perfect way to end our Kyoto sightseeing.
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