As it Rained in Kyoto...

Sunday, May 25, 2008

As it Rained in Kyoto...

I was a little upset thinking that this would some how ruin our day, but in reality it was perfect. It was cool enough for us to spend the next 9 hours hiking around the city and exploring the temples. Getting to the Ryokan was a little tough though. Nothing like seeing your wheels on the suitcase slowly degrade into the streets of Japan, as you look feverishly for the Inn, hidden amongst the narrow alleys. Anyway...

We woke up refreshed and went to Nijojo Castle. Awesome stuff. If you look at the map it actually had 2 palaces and outer palace for guests and an inner palace for the shogun. We could only tour the outer palace but it was still pretty amazing. Everything from the architecture to metal working all seemed way ahead of its time and they even built a "Nightengale" floor that squeeked no matter how quietly you walked (a security feature at the time). There were also Gardens and towers within the walls and wow, when I say walls, look at the pic of Tim standing next to one!

Afterword, we decided to visit some buddhist temples. The first was Sanjusagendo and it held 1001 gold statutes of a goddess, protected by 22 deities. It is actually the longest wooden temple in all Japan. Sadly, you will notice that most places would not let us take pictures of the interior due to age. From what I understood, this temple was built in the 1200s, and because of its length (394 feet), it is home to the Toshiya (archery contest). Another thing I did notice in Kyoto was Geisha. In most cities in Japan the Geisha have all but died away, but Kyoto (being the home of Geisha) they are still active today. You will see pics of a mako and her host mother walking her around as we were out in the city.

Next we went to Kiyomizudera, which was a massive grouping of temples built into the mountains, east of Kyoto. It was an amazing site, and while there we had a summer lunch of soba noodles and shaved ice (the best strawberry flavoured anything I ever had). Also, while walking around a small group of school kids had me help them with some English homework, which was fun in and of itself. Tired as we were we still stopped at a massive pagoda, some small shops and finaled at one of the largest buddhas in the world. It was amazing!

Tomorrow, we are off to the Golden Temple and philosphers path, and if we have time we will stop in Kyoto's craft district. See you tomorrow night!