Nishiki Food Market...

Our last stop in Kyoto was Nishiki Food Market, an enclosed shopping area with 100 food stalls and restaurants. There were lots of whole fish...

...and fish parts.

There were also some mysterious long things...

....and some pickled cucumber unlike any pickles I’ve ever seen.

After trying some of these delicious pea crackers, we had to buy some.

It’s easier to understand why Ashlynn was asked by some make-up artists if her eye color was natural after seeing that there are entire stores dedicated to contact lens in every color and shape.

Just before we got on the bullet train back to Tokyo, I captured this shot of Kyoto Tower. What a great weekend!

Old Kyoto...

While we never saw alcohol in vending machines in Tokyo, apparently they are still used in Kyoto.

We were surprised that there was no proof of age required; cigarette machines in Japan require a valid ID. Ashlynn was excited about buying her first beer, which I had the pleasure of drinking on the train ride home.

Yasaka-no-to Pagoda dates back to 1440; the associated temple has long since burned down due to fires, earthquakes and wars.

The alleyways were weren’t too crowded with tourists and gave us a good impression of what Tokyo could have looked like before WWII.

More Kyoto Shrines....

We still had a few hours to wander around the historic district of Kyoto. We happened upon the Yasui Konpiragu Shrine...

...where we saw this strange sculpture. It’s actually a Power Stone Monument for breaking off bad relations and initiating good ones.

After visiting the main shrine, you write your wish on a piece of paper and crawl through the monument forwards and backwards and then adhere the wish onto the monument.

Later, we happened upon this colorful shrine.

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.

A Great View...

In addition to all those amazing monkeys, the monkey park featured a wonderful view of Kyoto.

Up Close...

I just loved the reversal of roles: the monkeys were gawking at the people in the zoo. 

We preferred to see the monkeys wandering around.

This monkey clearly missed seeing the rule to keep at least six feet (two meters) distance between the different types of primates.

Cute Baby!

Despite the warning signs to keep your distance from the monkeys, one of the staff members allowed us to get shockingly close to get photos of this baby.

He told us that these were three generations of one family, with the mother doing the grooming while grandma supervised.

Monkeys, Monkeys, Everywhere...

Turns out we loved the monkey park! There were Japanese macaques (otherwise known as snow monkeys) everywhere!

The 120 monkeys are wild, but fed by the staff of the park so they spend much of the day near the visitors before retreating back to the hillside in the evenings.

Arashiyama Monkey Park...

Our destination was the Arashiyama Monkey Park. Considering the corny brochure and signs, our expectations weren’t too high.

It took about 20 minutes to hike up from the entrance to the park itself. It was nice to be back in the woods again.

More Arashiyama...

After breakfast we journeyed back to Arashiyama. It was nice seeing it in the daylight as it was very picturesque.

Selfie sticks were quite popular throughout Japan.

A Traditional Japanese Breakfast...

We set off to look for a vegetarian restaurant for breakfast, but weren’t impressed when we found it. Instead, we chose to eat at this tiny little place along a canal.

This visitor walked past our table. 

I loved my fish and egg breakfast...

...and Ashlynn enjoyed her eggs and rice.

The owner didn’t speak English, but was very sweet. He took this photo of us at our table...

...and another out front.