With the sight of lovely geisha walking down ancient streets lined with traditional wooden-style homes and merchant shops that stood the test of time, you really do feel transported through history in Gion. (Except that the crowds of tourists will kindly burst your dreamy bubble.)

View from Yasaka-jinja Shrine

Yasaka-jinja Shrine

Continuing straight ahead from the Yasaka Shrine I found myself in Maruyama Park. I didn’t know that this park served as the main attraction site for Sakura or cherry blossoms in Kyoto, until now, when I read about it. This knowledge made me shrivel a bit in sadness, because of all things I wanted to witness in Japan, were cherry blossoms in the springtime.