We ate very healthy bento lunches on the train. Japan cooks seasonal foods in special ways to celebrate the change in each season:
and we arrived at our youth hostel and immediately set out for Arashiyama. The photo below was taken posing in front of the Kyoto Tower in appreciation of the Picture Japan 2014 Trip (the group who went to Japan for the summer fundraising trip).
A train trip to Arashiyama, with time for some socializing, since the long bullet train trip to Kyoto was mostly for homework time.
Arriving into Arashiyama, we posed on the famous bridge:
Monkey Mountain was a climb up into the hills, and then lots of playing time to feed and photograph the monkeys. But first, we took quizzes along the way, in Japanese, of course, to learn about the monkeys. After all, it's a school day.
We marveled at the tall bamboo trees in the famous bamboo grove and captured them from many different angles:
The special dinner of Kyoto cooking focused on tofu cooking -- it's surprising how many dishes can be made with tofu. Everyone was given the challenge to eat healthy and stay strong for the long days of intense walking we do.
Relaxing in the foot bath after dinner:
Kyoto skyline from the top of Kyoto station:
