Kyoto/Osaka Trip, Day 3 - October 10, 2020

First of all, I need to apologize (again) for how long it's been since I have made a post. My life has been, and continues to be, in a bit of disarray. We have moved back to the US, but still only have half of our belongings. That being said, I remain determined to see this blog of our time in Japan completed. I will try to be better about adding posts regularly.

This was our first full day in Kyoto, and we wanted to see as much as possible. After breakfast (I had a hazelnut pancake, Japanese style) we caught the bus and were on our way.

We started at the Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji Temple). Unfortunately, our timing wasn't good. The pavilion was in the process of being renovated and was completely covered up. Maybe it was for the best, it was such a grey morning, we wouldn't have been able to see it shine anyway.

They were gracious enough to erect a large billboard to show you what you were missing. Here is a photo of the billboard:

Kinkakuji is a World Heritage Site and is famous for its gold leaf coating. It was originally built in 1397, but was destroyed by fire multiple times. The most recent fire was set by a 'mad monk' in 1950. Yup, you read that right...a mad monk, (as in angry-mad, not crazy-mad). The current building was built in 1955. The grounds are beautiful and we enjoyed walking around the complex.

I have always enjoyed taking pictures of birds and was lucky to get this picture of a varied tit (shown below). Since I almost always had the wide angle lens on the camera while in Japan, I wasn't able to get many good bird pictures.

Such a pretty little bird! Don't you agree?

Our next stop was Nijo-jo Castle. Nijo-jo was built in 1603 and is also a World Heritage site.

We began by exploring the grounds inside the outer castle walls.

I was amused by this sign:

I thought these weeping pagoda trees were cool:

It was getting to be lunch time so we stopped by the cafe at the castle. Unfortunately, they only sold ice cream and coffee. We settled on ice cream for lunch. I should have looked at the price before I ordered. This gold leafed ice cream sundae cost about $40. It was good, but not that good.

After 'lunch' we entered the inner castle grounds through the Kara-mon Gate.

Nijo-jo Castle was where the last Shogun surrendered in 1867, marking the end of 700 years of samurai rule. We were able to go inside the Castle but weren't allowed to take pictures.

One of the things Nijo-jo is known for are it's 'nightingale floors'. The floors 'chirp' as you walk across them. The noise is created by the wood beams rubbing against nails. THIS LINK will take to you a site with a video showing the floors in action.

After exploring the castle we walked the inner castle grounds.

The bells were used to warn of fire or other emergencies.

I absolutely love Japanese architecture.

The garden was particularly beautiful....and large.

After exploring the garden we made our way to the one of the lookout points before moving on.

We left Nijo-jo and headed to Kiyomizu-dera.

Kiyomizu-dera is a buddhist temple and another World Heritage Site. It was built in 780 on Otowa waterfall. It's name means "Pure Water Temple". Like most temples, the visit involves climbing steps.

There were a lot of cool dragon statues here.

The views from the top were incredible

Of course, there was a pagoda.

And another one further away:

We eventually worked our way to the second pagoda, but I liked this picture of it the best.

I included this picture to show how ornate the lights were, but also because I managed to get 3 women wearing kimonos within the shot. On the average day in Japan it was common to see a handful of people wearing kimonos. There were always more at the shrines and temples.

As we worked our way through the complex we could look back at where we had been.

Pictured below is one of two stones placed 18m apart. It is said, if you can find your way from one stone to the next with your eyes closed then you will have luck in love.

Near the stones is the Jishu Shrine. It is dedicated to the god of love and matchmaking, okuninushino-mikoto. He is dipicted by this statue. The rabbit beside him is his messenger.

Another cool dragon:

This is the main hall. It was built without using nails. As you can see, it was getting late and the sun was starting to set over Kyoto.

Another great view:

This is Otowa Waterfall:

You can drink from the streams of water. Each stream is said to have different properties (longevity, love, academic success), but it is considered greedy to drink from all three.

After a pause to take in the scenery one more time, we worked our way back to the hotel. We had plans to meet some friends for dinner at a beef ramen restaurant and didn't want to be late.