Delightful fall weather reigned (not rained) in Kyoto yesterday – a little warm but not muggy, with overcast for most of the day but a few sunny moments for the camera.  I’d intentionally set out to make it a “hidden Kyoto” sort of day – hit lesser-known places I’d never been before – but ended up being a bit of an unintentional anime pilgrimage.  And would have been even more had I mustered the energy for the 15-minute hillclimb to Tanukidani Fudoin, the temple in northeast Kyoto for the Shimogamo family resides (that’s where the grandma visit took place).

• Stop #1 – the Shinkyougoku “eight temple pilgrimage” mentioned in Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes (more on that in a moment).
• Stop #2 – completely accidental, but a temple that was featured in K-On, Myoenji (I’ll have to take the internet’s word for that, as it must have happened after I dropped that show).  I was simply looking for a place to quickly visit while I waited for the ramen shop I planned to dine at to open and Myoenji was close by, but it wasn’t until I Googled it that I found out about the connection.
• Stop #3 was non anime-related, but one of those secret places I’d heard was worth checking out – Shisen-do hermitage (now a temple), near Ichijoji.  This isn’t an especially tourist-trodden part of town but it’s quite lovely (this is also where Tanukidani is, way up that mountain).
• Stop #4 was the Hachidai shrine right next door, and again an unintended connection (Kyoto is full of those).  This was the place where Miyamoto Musashi (the protagonist of Vagabond but someone everyone should know anyway) had his famous battle with the Yoshioka clan.
• Stop #5 was probably my most-anticipated target of the day, the Shinko-kan tearoom from Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes Episode 11.  It’s located at the exquisite Yoshida Sanso ryokan (formerly an Imperial residence) on Mt. Yoshida, another one of those somewhat lesser-known beautiful places in Kyoto.  “Holmes” did an amazing job of depicting the gorgeous little cafe – it really felt like I’d been there before – and of course, the relevant volume of the novel was available for purchase.
• Stop #6 was a stop at Yoshida Jinja a few hundred meters from the ryokan, a historically important Shinto shrine little-visited by tourists.
• Stop #7, finally, was the former Kujou residence at the Kyoto Imperial Palace gardens.  Why this place gets as many lukewarm reviews as it does is a mystery to me, as I find it to be fascinating and gorgeous.  The Kujou residence, specifically, is what remains of the estate of one the Emperor’s most important servants, and puts many in mind of a hidden Kinkajuji or Ginkajuji.  As advertised there were few tourists about, but I was greeted by this very friendly (and well-fed) fellow who seems to be a well-known local resident.  He’s happy to jump up onto a bench and sit next to you, but he’ll try and dig into your bag and see if there’s anything of interest inside.  If it weren’t already my favorite place on Earth, Kyoto is absolutely thick with cats in public spaces.