Date I went: 04/14/2020
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Today I will go look around the Sanneizaka area during the Covid era.
Nanzen-ji Temple (南禅寺)
Nanzen-ji is a good starting point for entering the shopping areas of Nineizaka, Sanneizaka, and Kiyomizudera Shopping Street.
Nanzen-ji: https://nanzenji.or.jp/
Maruyama Park (円山公園)
Adjacent to Nanzen-ji is Maruyama Park. It was definitely my favorite park to visit in Kyoto. There's a few small cafes here, and it is also next-door to Yasaka Shrine. Lots of pigeons come here to get free breadcrumbs from park-goers. There are also plenty of Koi fish in the pond here.
Maruyama Park: https://kyoto-maruyama-park.jp/
Entoku-in (圓徳院)
Entoku-in is on the smaller side of temples in Kyoto, but not one to be over looked. I didn't personally go inside it, but it's right around the area of Maruyama Park so stop by if you have time!
Entoku-in: https://www.kodaiji.com/entoku-in/
Nineizaka/Ninenzaka (二寧坂/二年坂)
Even a week earlier here at Nineizaka there were a few dozen people walking around here, but now there was maybe 3 or 4 other people walking around including myself. This is the first time in its history you can see it completely empty like this during the day.
Nineizaka: http://2nenzaka.ne.jp/
Sanneizaka/Sannenzaka (産寧坂/三年坂)
Sanneizaka, a bit further up the road from Nineizaka, was similarly empty. Only a few shops were open at this point, but most had already closed up this week. Technically there was no rule or law requiring people to stay indoors, but the Japanese people are usually very compliant with what the government tells them to do (unlike Americans).
Donguri Kyowakoku Ghibli Store (どんぐり共和国 二寧坂店)
This Ghibli store was still operating during the pandemic, and they had this super cute Totoro wooden sign out front with the bus stop.
Kiyomizudera Shopping Street (清水寺門前商店街 入口)
Kiyomizudera Shopping Street is usually the most packed area here. Today though it is a ghost town, and you might even wonder if you are in Kyoto seeing this type of view.
Puppet Show at on Kiyomizu-dera Shopping Street Murakami Kihodo (村上喜宝堂)
I happened to come across this animatronic puppet show playing at the building location marked in the google map above. There were no showtimes posted for when the animatronic plays, but it seemed to be fairly often because I saw it going again coming back down the pathway. They are telling a story, but I'm not sure which Japanese folk lore they are enacting.
Nio-mon Kiyomizudera Temple (清水寺仁王門)
Once you get to the top of the Kiyomizudera Shopping Street you come to Nio-mon Gate, which is at the front of Kiyomizudera Temple. From here you can enjoy some spectacular views of Kyoto City.
Kiyomizudera: https://www.kiyomizudera.or.jp/map.php
Kyoto Tower (京都タワー)
If you look closely from up here you can also spot Kyoto Tower in the distance!
I'm going to need some of these puppies to keep me company soon if I can't get back home.
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