Many recommended itineraries have you spending between two or three full days in Old Town. In my experience, even with the throngs of tourists in high season, the whole area can definitely be seen in a single day. The main attraction is clearly the Shinto Shrine that looms large on the hill over the old neighborhood. Kinkiju Temple has quite an interesting history, enough for its own blog post actually, but I’ll leave that for another time. After all the excitement from the dog attack yesterday, some quiet and serenity would be welcome. I did try to get some followup on that sorry story. That poor girl nearly lost her arm, but it seems she came out just fine. The dogs though… it was off to the shelter for those two. It’s sad but it’s a matter of public safety I guess. After that kind of unprovoked attack, you just won’t be able to trust them around people again. Never seen anything like that in my travels. Highly unexpected.
Visiting during a Matsuri was a mixed bag... really interesting to be able to see them transporting the Mikoshi. At the same time, tons more photographers and tourists than usual.
Whether at the Shrine or the center of town, the temple deer are always fun. They're aggressive and a pain in the ass, but they're fun.