During our stay in Japan, we spent several wonderful days in Kyoto.  We took so many photos, there are two pages.  Click on the link above to see the rest.

    The famous shinkansen (bullet train).  It was really comfortable and so fast!  It only took 2.5 hours to get from Tokyo to Kyoto.

Nijo Castle

This isn't really a castle as we would think of it.  More like a chateau in France, in that it is a very beautiful and ornate residence rather than a fortification.  It was built by the Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu in the 16th century and is the location of the famous 'nightingale floors'.  These are specially constructed floors that squeak like a nightingale when walked on.  This was done to provide some protection against spies and assassins - you'd definitely hear them coming!

        The entrance to Nijo castle with a detail from the lintel.  

    Roof detail at Nijo castle.

The garden at the castle was designed by Kobori Enshu and is famous for it's beautiful rocks and serene pool. 

Here it is in Autumn:          and in Summer:  

        Some other views of the garden.  These were taken during summer, which is the rainy season in Japan.

Nijo-jo has some beautiful paintings inside from the Kano School of painters.  They adorn the walls with tigers, panthers, geese, herons and other birds among lovely bamboo groves and pines.  We don't have any photos as photography is forbidden inside due to the deterioration that would be caused by camera flashes.

Eastern Gion and Higashiyama

Gion is, of course, most famous as a Geisha quarter.  It is one of the parts of Kyoto where you can still get a feeling of how the city used to be before modernisation began in the 60s.  The particular area of Gion we were wandering around was very quaint and full of teahouses, galleries and tiny shops.

    Guardian statue at Yasaka Shrine.  There were some great stalls here, including one that sold wonderfully tasty fried sweet potato - yum!

    The shrine has many guardians - in this case, life imitates art!

    A typical building in this district.  This one actually was a gallery where we bought some Edo style paintings.

Drinking Tea

A lot of time was spent drinking traditional tea (matcha) in Kyoto - a excellent passtime!  We didn't have the full tea ceremony but it was lovely sitting in teahouses and temples drinking tea.  These photos are actually taken from a number of places.  The first three from a teahouse in Eastern Gion, the next couple from Daisen-in Temple and the last one from Kinkaku-ji.

Daitoku-ji

This is a huge temple complex with many subtemples including Daisen-in.  The complex is closely linked with the tea ceremony and Sen no Rikyo (the person who ritualised the act of drinking tea) apparently put an image of himself in the upper storey of the gate.  The sad end to this tale is that his act supposedly caused Toyotomi Hideyoshi to order his suicide.

    One of the buildings in Daitoku-ji.

    Jizo statues at Daitoku-ji.  Jizo is the guardian bosatsu of especially children and pregnant women.

    The abbot's quarter prayer room at Daisen-in.

Daisen-in has a very beautiful dry Zen garden.  There are 4 parts of the garden, each part symbolising different aspects of people's relationship with nature and place in the universe.  This type of garden was inspired by Chinese Sung monochrome landscape paintings.

The first picture is of "The Great Ocean".  It is designed to serve as an aid to meditation.  The tree in the corner is meant to be the same type as the one under which the Buddha achieved enlightenment.

The second is a corner of the section that includes a waterfall of gravel.  The rock symbolises Mount Horai.

The third represents Japan's inland sea between Honshu and Kyushu.

Kinkaku-ji

The stunning golden pavilion.  It was built by the third Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimitsu as his retirement villa!  The original was unfortunately destroyed by arson in 1950, but has been faithfully reproduced.  The gardens around it are very beautiful and there is a teahouse where you can have matcha either inside or outside in the garden.

Ginkaku-ji

This name translates to 'Silver Pavilion' in English, but is not covered with leaf like Kinkaku-ji.  It's gardens are very beautiful and it is my favourite place in Kyoto.

Some other aspects of Kyoto

The shopping in Kyoto is pretty good, including some funky clothes stores and the ubiquitous department stores!

    A shrine on the busy main shopping street in the evening, just before the shops closed for the day.  Everyone hurrying to finish their shopping!

Hiiragiya Ryokan

Our favourite place to stay in Kyoto is Hiiragiya Ryokan.  A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn and this one is very special.  The building is one of the old wooden townhouses and the service, food and especially the bath is unbeatable.

    Jenny and I having tea in our room at Hiiragiya.

    The presentation is so beautiful, it seems a shame to eat it!