Kyoto sightseeing

After breakfast, we set out on a sightseeing tour. There were several sights on our list plus four maps of suggested walks provided by the hotel.  The sun was shining and the forecast not good, so the top priority had to be the golden pavilion. Kyoto is much larger than we had first thought, so we used taxis again to get to the temple.

The Golden Pavilion at Kinkaku-ji temple is covered in gold leaf and surrounded by water. 

It is a very popular visitor attraction with everyone jostling for the best view

Around the pond

While walking on the the next temple, we passed a large 'graveyard' of retired pillars and suchlike. 

The next temple was Ryoan-ji where we walked around a large lake this bridge leads to a small shrine on an island.

The star of Ryoan-ji is the rock garden with these rocks arranged on pebbles. We left our shoes at the door and put on slippers to walk on the wood floors. Rocks in temples were often donated by lords centuries ago.

This hall with lovely decorations is by the rock garden

A small temple was unusually open on this day.  We were not supposed to take photos, but here is the ceiling with its cheery dragon. 

 To go out into the garden, there was yet more changing of slippers for outdoor slippers. 

In the gardens was a yet smaller pavilion 

Our final sight of the day was the Ninna-ji temple and gardens 

This magnificent pavilion is what we really came to see

So after lots of walking, we took a taxi back to the Ryokan, collected our cases and went on to our next hotel. For our final day, we did some local sightseeing in the area of our hotel and then taxied to an area linked by "the philosopher's walk" or "Path of Philosophy". The first stop was the Ginkaku-ji temple with its 'Silver' Pavilion, which isn't silver. 

The silver pavilion at Ginkaku-ji

The stone garden

Part of water features 

Tree roots on the walks around the gardens

We then strolled along the path of philosophy which follows a stream and off which were many temples. We choose to see the Otoyo shrine which featured statues of cats and mice.

Then we left the 'philosopher's walk' and caught a taxi back to the hotel to collect our cases before taking the train back to Tokyo and on to the the airport hotel. 

Along the walk the cherry trees were breaking into blossom 

This is sightseeing by rickshaw. Drivers need to be photographers as well

During our train journey, we briefly caught sight of Mount Fuji towering above the skyline

To get to the airport we needed two trains and a monorail. We had no schedule worked out and just turned up and worked things out as we went. We never had more than a few minutes to wait. From Kyoto to Tokyo there was a fast train leaving about every ten minutes. At the airport we picked up a shuttle bus to our Japanese Airlines hotel. The trains lived up to their high expectations. The most impressive thing was that there were never any signalling slowdowns or stops.

Kyoto and a traditional Japanese inn

We had arranged to spend two nights in Kyoto: the first night in a traditional inn, a Ryokan, and the second in an Ibis. We took a train from Tokyo, the high speed Shinkansen, which has a top speed of 320km/hour (200 mph) although we never measured more than 270 km/hr en route. It's quite comfortable with 5 seats per row and plenty of legroom between the rows. 

 

As we boarded the train, John wondered why he could hear 'God save the Queen' (though it could have been the sound that precedes an announcement which is remarkably similar), until he spotted the photographers: Prince William was just leaving Tokyo and the photographers were on duty. He had a special green train.

The route between Tokyo is built up for most of the way.  Our route took is past Mount Fuji, we couldn't see anything through the cloud on this grey day. The map shows railway lines

On this train, most of the carriages are for reserved tickets, but five carriages are available for those who have not made a seat reservation. We were travelling on our rail passes, so were in the second group where there was plenty of room. 

This is our train

I had expected Kyoto to be small after seeing maps, but this was not the case - it's a big city. 

A taxi took us to the ryokan, were we were greeted, our shoes exchanged for slippers and the usual information collected. We were then shown around.  There was to be a big party that night in the dining room.

A

The little dolls are made for a festival on March 3rd, little girls' day. 

We were shown to our room, where we removed our slippers, so as not to damage the delicate mats on the floor. From now on, all service was to our room and the staff wore yukata. There is more that one entrance to the room: our entrance and another for the staff!

Tea was served and the owner came to welcome us to her home. 

N.B. No bed; this comes later. 

The bath has been filled and the water is warm under the wooden covers. 

Taking a bath is a social event in Japan, usually one washes first and shares a bath. The Rykoen has bath rooms with bigger baths for couples, so we booked in for that after we had eaten. 

After tea, we took a walk around the local area, this is an old district with narrow streets.  Clearly there is a parking problem and they double stack. 

From our walk.  The first shop is 'Paul Smith'

This market was enormous and teeming with people. There seemed to be no real theme to it. 

When we returned to the ryokan, we changed into our kimonos and tea arrived.

Dinner was served at 1930 on the dot.  This is the menu

By the time we were half way through, we were full, and just picking at the remainder of the meal. 

This is the first course

When we had eaten, the table was moved to the side and the bed appeared amd was made for us.  

We disappeared for our bath, more tea arrived and we slept very comfortably and soundly

In the morning and by appointment, staff appeared to clear the bed away and reinstate the table and, of course, bring tea. Then breakfast arrived

When we had finished, we changed back into our ordinary clothes, packed and set off For a day's sightseeing. 

Tokyo sightseeing - shrines and palaces

Our list for Saturday were the Imperial Palace grounds and the Meiji shrine. 

The Palace was some kilometers away from our hotel and so we hopped into a taxi. We didn't intend to visit the inside of the Palace, but did want to see the east gardens which are open to the public. The site occupies a huge area and so we did a lot of walking. 

Lines of people were led from their buses to the point from which it is possible to take photos. 

A race was taking place, adding to the confusion. 

There is ally of space between the moat and the nearest buildings; not unlike Buckingham Palace, but this space is empty. 

The Palace is surrounded by a moat and has guards, though the Palace is only used by the Emperor a couple of days a year.

A close up of the Palace

And a detail of a roof decoration, a stylised carp

We visited a local park on our way to the Palace gardens. It wasn't as noteable as the Shinjuko gardens but did have a bandstand/outdoor concert area

and a lovely Sinji pond. 

The twitchers were out

Taking photos of this kingfisher

Walking around the Palace boundaries, this cormorant fly in and was extremely proficient at catching fish, but he ate them too fast for us to capture the image. 

This is the guard tower and the East Gate.

The gardens are large and home to government offices, wooded areas, the remains of an Edo castle, art galleries and museums.

a Japanese garden area and large lawns

The Edo castle was built in 1457 and became part of the Imperial Palace in due course.  Some ramparts and walls still exist. Only the walls are left, but people climb steep slopes to get to the top.  The view isn't that exciting. 

The rose garden, just waiting for summer

The second site on our list was the Meiji Shinto shrine, the most popular shrine in Tokyo built in 1920 and commemorating an Emperor and Empress. In fact, it was bombed during the war and reconstructed. 

The entrance.  The arches are called torii. 

To get to the shrine, one walks through a wood. following the crowds and passing these ornate lights

We saw offerings of wine and sake.

Before entering the shrine, we copied other visitors and washed our hands

Then we entered the inner part

A wedding had just taken place

We could go up to the shrine with everyone else, but not take photos. The routine is to throw an offering of money, bow twice, clap your hands twice and bow once. 

In addition, you can write a wish on a piece of wood (which you buy), hang it up and the priests will offer up your request. 

That was it for the day. We went out for an "Italian" meal and a bottle of wine in a small basement restaurant!