Kyoto revisited

The advantage of visiting iconic Kyoto sites in Winter is the lack of crowds. When Tony and I went to the Ryoanji zen rock garden 25 years ago, we had to wait in a queue for a small space on the smooth wooden verandah to gaze at the 14 (or 15, for the enlightened ones) rocks and raked gravel. This time we virtually had the place to ourselves, and I can confirm that the rocks have not changed in the last quarter century.  We revisited Kinkakuji, the golden temple, and I was overwhelmed when I glanced it through the trees - it is a stunning sight. It was a greyish mid-winter day, but Kinkakuji makes it own light. We also visited a temple in the mountains, with a beautiful ancient garden and bamboo path (photos below).