Today and tomorrow are off days for me, just sightseeing. Today we went to a Festival here in Kyoto. We stood and watched a parade of people in costume for three hours, I could have used a little less parade. But the costumes were elaborate and beautiful. The kids were the best.

After the parade we went to an area in the northwest part of Kyoto palace and zen garden. It was a very pretty area and a kind of artsy town.