Japan part 2

Owing in a large part to playing Frisbee and going out for frozen yoghurt, I haven't gotten any further with my photos yet today, but no matter, I'll get there. Friday The day started off by raining again, but it wasn't too cold, and it cleared up in the afternoon so mustn't grumble. We went to Kyoto. The guidebook recommended a visit to Kyoto Imperial Palace, but since that requires special permission in advanced, we settled for a stroll around the palace gardens instead, hoping to catch to glimpse of the autumn foliage. Maybe we were a couple of weeks early though as most of it remained resolutely green. After ice cream and lunch (with a modicum of getting lost in between), we made our way to a cluster of temples (and gardens, naturally) to get a little peace from the bustle of the city for a while. We even had chance to take part in a traditional-style Japanese tea ceremony in one of the temple, and we were shown the correct way to hold and admire one's cup so as to best compliment the host. We were unable to find anywhere to stay in Kyoto, so it was back to Osaka (and Gunter) for the evening. We went to an international beer festival, but shamefully left again without having a single beer between the three of us (it was expansive!) so we bought a bunch of fruit beers to take back to the hotel. We also stopped off on the way back to go on (one of?) the city's Ferris wheels - the Japanese really seem to dig their Ferris wheels. We had also had plans to go to some (naked!) Japanese baths today, but we got so carried away with all the walking around gardens that we never really had time. Maybe for the best...