The Lantern Walk

This evening we set out around 6pm to do the Lantern Walk around the temples and shrines of Gion. The sun was setting and the lanterns had just been turned on, and lined each side of the street. They guided you through temples, shrines and beautiful gardens. There was a real mystical feel to the whole place and you could feel traditional Japan all around you.

It was by far the most romantic place we have ever been, and Andy said that he wished he could have proposed here. It would have taken a lot to top Rome, but I could feel what he meant. This place was so charged with love and romance, and felt really mystical, like being in an old Japanese Geisha movie.

With every turn of the road there was something else to look at, a lantern lit pathway crossed with a little boutique selling lanterns and Japanese paper. There were a lot of people milling around but that only added to the buzz of the place. When we walked through the park, we passed a flower exhibition and a stream filled with bamboo with tea lights inside to light up the whole river - it was extraordinarily beautiful.

At one stage we were just walking along when we saw a couple peering through a bamboo gate and being the curious beings that we are, we stopped to see what they were looking at. On the other side was what can only be described as a secret garden with a stream filled with golden koi carp. Surely this had to be make believe?! It was fairytale-like.

Andy was really proud of the photo he took on his iPhone. To be fair, it looks like something off a poster and it's much better than the photo I took with the SLR!! I promise it's real though!