Last day in Kyoto

We woke up to torrential rain so had a slow morning in the apartment before venturing out. We rode down some tiny side streets and dodged one heavy shower. Jess had recommended visiting the textile centre where they hold regular kimono fashion shows. (My camera phone could not cope with the bright lights.)

This beautiful kimono was on sale for £462;

The sun was shining when we came out so we ate our lunch before heading to the food market. More interesting foodstuffs and some lovely sake to try.

These mini octopus were about 3" long and people were eating them on the skewer, starting with the head;

These sea cucumbers were covered in some sort of goo and are the most unappetising thing we have seen;

I think this is another type of sea cucumber;

I had seen a notice in the traditional craft museum on our previous visit that there would be a dance performance on the 3rd Sunday of each month starting in April....and worked out that that would be today and we got there with a minute to spare. It was a very gentle dance with certain moves using a folding fan and was performed by a Maiko who is an apprentice geisha. Photos were prohibited during the performance.

On the way home we went around the palace park and watched a game of softball. We wanted to see Nijo castle but it was surrounded by high walls and hedging and you had to pay an entrance fee in order to see anything as well as a parking fee for the bikes.