Day 55: Kyoto, Japan

We set an alarm today so we could visit some other top rated temples here in Kyoto before we caught our 6pm bullet train back to Tokyo. We grabbed breakfast at our favorite local bakery (Sizuya), got our unlimited bus tickets for the day, and hit the bus stop heading for Kinkakuji Temple.

This one is most famous in Kyoto for the "Golden Pavilion" that sits along the lake.





Siena - we saw a turtle here in the lake that said to say hello to Delilah.



We walked down the road to the next popular temple called Ryoanji. This one had a beautiful lake and gardens but one of the main attractions in the "Rock Garden" created in the early 1500's. '"Expertly arranged" next to the temple are 15 rocks laid out in white gravel. The garden is surrounded by a wall. The brochure claims that it "may be thought of as the quintessence of Zen art." While there were quite a few people gazing at the garden looking for the meaning of life, I could see nothing but 15 rocks in a patch of white gravel. So I took a picture and passed it off as my inability to be enlightened.



The temple and the grounds had some beautiful sights that I felt were more inspiring:





Our last historical site for the day was Nijo Castle, built by the first shogun (Ieyasu) back in 1603, and dondated to the city of Kyoto in 1939. The castle is a massive complex that contained living quarters, meeting rooms, etc. There is an outer moat and an inner moat with huge high stone walls to protect it. The corridors inside the main palace are designed with Nightingale floors. The design produces a small chirp when walked across so that nobody could sneak around the palace without being heard. In one of the rooms the 15th and last shogun summoned all the feudal lords for a meeting and declared that soverignity would be returned to the Emporer, effectively making this room the end of nearly 270 years of military rule by the shogun regime. No photography was allowed inside but the surrounding gardens and pathways were beautiful to walk through.







We spent the remaining time browsing through shops near the hotel, and I forced Ilana through one more round of conveyor belt sushi!



We jumped on the amazingly fast and smooth bullet train back to Tokyo so we could get our morning flight to China. Japan has been amazing. So many great sights to see and the people have been spectacular everywhere we went. I now know why Nadja loves this place so much! Kampai!

FJ