Today our destination is North Central Kyoto. But first a meeting of the photo workshop group in the hotel after breakfast. We had participant (14) introductions and met our professional photographer, Eddie Soloway, and our tour leader, Tomoko Kisaka. Afterwards we got a lesson on using the subway to get to our first destination, the Daitoku-ji Monastery. At the monastery we got the first taste of taking off your shoes to enter the temple. It is a common practice in Japan and helps keep the floors clean.

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The temple has an amazing entrance and you need to pay attention to how everything is laid out to really appreciate the beauty of the design. Three long pathways at right angles led to the temple and it was a serene walk. Once inside the temple, the Japanese maple leaves in the garden attracted the most attention. We took pictures of the garden from inside the temple and then from within the garden. All too soon our hour was up and we had to leave to get to lunch on time.

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After lunch we explored a rock garden. The sand is raked in pleasing patterns around the rocks. People enjoy the serene feeling and sit and contemplate. I didn't feel like I had much time for that but did appreciate the appeal. The day was full but not over. After taxi rides to our hotel we gathered and went to dinner as a group. The food was modern Japanese and everyone got sit in chairs at Sakontoro restaurant. It was an excellent meal and a great way to finish our first workshop day.

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