Day 13: Free time in Kyoto / Bullet train to Hiroshima

Tanner & Hailey: we started off by riding a train to Arashiyama where we then walked past a dragon pond up to the monkey park. There was lots of monkeys and it was very cool and the view was amazing. We also went to a bamboo forest nearby.

[Here the people are behind the fence, and the monkeys hang around the ledge outside to get fed the treats!]

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Megan: We started off the day at Kinkaku-ji [Golden Temple] which was really pretty. 

We then headed off to a river that I don't know the name of and sat in the shade under the bridge for a while. 

We finished off the day with two hours of karaoke.

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Dante/Jaimy/Anna: We went to the Golden Temple first, with most of the rest of the group. It was honestly beautiful! After walking around for a bit and eating, we decided to go to karaoke. 

Karaoke was super fun, and everyone got to sing at least one song in the mic that they picked; most of us sang more than one. We took the last few hours to slowly make our way back to the station, stopping at a few shops along the way.

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Sebastian: Had Omurice [Rice omelette] at Omura-house with group.

After eating Omurice, I split from the group in an effort to get to the Nijo castle. After much walking and confusion with the bus line, I had arrived at my destination and walked around the castle a lot, taking in the Edo era paintings and architecture. 

I then left the castle and struggled to find my way back to the Kyoto train station before heading over to a nearby temple [Higashi-Honganji] to relax and draw. I learned that this temple is among the largest wooden structures of the world.