Kyoto

May 8-11

From Nikko we trained back through Tokyo and on to Kyoto. In Tokyo Station we split up as Tim went to the bathroom while I looked for some seats on the train. I finally found a pair of seats together and started to text Tim the location when the train took off – without Tim! Shit! Apparently the trains leave every 10 minutes, we hadn't realized just how many bullet trains they send through the station. Fortunately it was just a 45 minute ride and Tim caught the next one, so we met back up in Kyoto. 

Kyoto was the capital of Japan for most of its history and is full of fantastic gardens, temples, castles, and palaces. Kyoto Station is a huge glass and steel affair that has a 12th story sky garden with decent views of the city, making it easy to see Kyoto valley and surrounding hills. Trying to keep costs down, we utilized our tiny kitchenette and the surprisingly viable grocery store dinner. 

We toured Nijo-jo castle and gardens, learning that the Japanese style is certainly more subtle than most other places we've been. Simple murals of pine trees cover the walls which apparrently symbolize power and strength. The shogun (roughly quivalent to Prime Minister) would receive visitors in a room where everyone would sit on their knees, with only a small 6" raised platform to indicate the shogun's superiority. Five horizontal lines on the walls indicate the building is of the highest status. No golden thrones here. On the walk back we toured Nishiki market, which was crowded and clearly catered to tourists, but it was fun with a colorful ceiling overhead. 

I had a pretty bad head cold, so Tim wandered out alone while I slept and recovered, visiting Tenryuji temple and its nearby bamboo grove. He also accidentally got stuck in a ceremony at Higashi Honganji, a large buddhist temple nearby that was celebrating the annual pilgrimage of the icon of its head abbot that is carried a few hundred miles by foot to and from another temple. The ceremony was short and simple, but all in Japanese, with a few sermons by buddhist leaders before they carried the scroll in a procession back to where its stored on the temple grounds. He also went to Fushimi Inara Taisha in the evening to catch a view of the never ending torii gates lit up in the dark. He did stop in periodically to keep me well-supplied with food! 

The next morning I was feeling a little better and wanted to see the torii gates so we went back to Fushimi Inari Taisha to hike the full trail to the top of Mt. Inari before heading on to Osaka. There really are a lot of them – it's a pretty cool sight. I was worried it would be really crowded (it was at the bottom), but towards the summit the crowds thinned and we were able to experience a little of the magic and peace...in between some prodigious nose blowing.

Kyoto Station

Around Kyoto

Garden on Nijo-jo castle grounds

Arashayama bamboo forest near Tenryuji Temple

Fushimi Inari Taisha