I really like to travel around Kansai so a couple of weeks ago I took a trip through Nishiki Market in Kyoto. The first time I’d gone there was when I’d first come to Japan on vacation in 2012. I remember how crowded it was then and every other time since then. But when I went there last time there were hardly any people. I guess that’s one of the bitter sweet things about the current situation.

After passing through the market, I took a walk around and stumbled across Rokkudo (ろっかくどう) temple. I was amazed by the number of pigeons, and realized they’re a fixture when I went inside the souvenir shop. They had notepads, pens, stamps and a few other things that all had a pigeon motif. Besides that, it was also a really cool temple.

I kept on exploring, and came across this trendy clothing store. An interesting thing about it is that it’s in a building that was built in the Meiji era in 1890. As it turns out, the building was originally a watch maker’s store. It had an old vault and even a double entry spiral staircase. I’d actually just gone in to check out the building more than the clothes.

My trip ended at Gyoukanji (ぎょうかんじ). I’ve been there before and I always go back because they shelter stray cats. I love cats, and I love living in Japan. It feels like it’s been a seven year vacation.
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