Traveling to our hotel in Hakone was an adventure itself. After reaching Odawara and its castle by train, we took a mountain tram to Gora, switched to a cable car to Togendai, then boarded a sightseeing boat across Lake Ashi to Moto-Hakone for the bus to our hotel. Though the heavy fog that day made for a misty, romantic view of the sulfur springs in Owakudani and the great torii at Hakone Jinja, our view of Mt Fuji was completely obscured by the blanket of white. Fortunately, we were redeemed on arrival at the Mikawaya Ryokan, where our lavish Kaiseki meal and a soak in our outdoor private hot spring bath melted our stress away. By the time we arrived in Kyoto by shinkansen on Wednesday, we were totally re-invigorated. After checking into our hotel, we wandered down the narrow street of Pontocho, munched on over-spiced okonomiyaki, and finished the night with ramen from another Santouka branch. The next morning, we braved the maze of bus routes to check out Tenryu-ji and the bamboo forest in Arashiyama. From there, we headed east to the famous zen garden at Ryoan-ji, survived the asphyxiating crowds at Kinkaku-ji, and found reprieve at the serene gardens in Koto-in. The afternoon was spent exploring the imperial palace with an hour-long guided tour and gobbling octopus balls at the Nishiki food market. We took a last detour to behold the tunnels of toriis at the Fushimi-Inari-Taisha before rounding the night off with a beautifully-presented yuba dinner at Komameya. On Friday, we went to Higashiyama for a morning view of the Kyoto skyline from the mountain-side temples of Kiyomizu-dera. From there, we strolled through the serene street of Ishibe Koji for a stop at the gardens of Kodai-ji and paid homage to the Ryozen Kannon. Further north, we passed Maruyama Park and listened to the hypnotic Buddhist service at Chion-In. After a lunch break with some nabeyaku udon at Hinode Udon, we wandered down the Philosopher’s Path, with multiple stops for green tea soft-serve, before reaching Ginkaku-ji, which sadly was under renovation. Feeling totally “shrined” out, we spent the late afternoon browsing comic books at the Manga Museum. We concluded our final evening with two dinners – an unagi-don rice bowl and a hearty platter of udon. A perfect ending for any trip.