Tuesday, November 28, 2006
24 November, 2006
We headed out to Nijo Jo (Nijo Castle) and on our bus trip we met some school children whom we befriended. They were very fascinated with us and we kept them entertained. The castle was not open to the public but we entered the palace complex. It was really different from everything we had seen and the art paintings were incredible. Everything is so clean and the design is very neat and simple but yet so appealing. We walked through the different rooms where the Shogun lived and where he would reside and dine and have his meetings with officers. The floor is called the ‘nightingale floor’ because of the way it squeaks as one walks. This was a special design in order to hear if anybody entered (security reasons). We walked around the gardens and left for Ginkaku Temple. This was a bus trip away and it is also known as the “Silver Pavillion”, however the Shogun’s ambition to cover the building with silver was never realized. Walkways lead through the gardens, which include meticulously raked cones of white sand (probably symbolic of a mountain) tall pines and a pond. There is also a walkway behind the temple up the mountain and the views are brilliant. The colours are even better. We got on another bus and reached Kinkaku Temple. This Golden Temple is one of Japan’s best-known sights and we happened to arrive at sunset when the sun was setting over the water catching the gold of the Temple. Most Temples were converted from Villas where Shoguns used to stay and rule. It was magnificent! We found our way to Shekawati street- a very picturesque street with expensive restaurants so we looked around and left. We searched for a restaurant and it was quite tough to find some plane Japanese food at a reasonable price so we settled for some Japanese-style Chinese food. Kyoto is very pretty with alleyways and waterways (a bit like Venice). The colours are fantastic and almost surreal.
We headed out to Nijo Jo (Nijo Castle) and on our bus trip we met some school children whom we befriended. They were very fascinated with us and we kept them entertained. The castle was not open to the public but we entered the palace complex. It was really different from everything we had seen and the art paintings were incredible. Everything is so clean and the design is very neat and simple but yet so appealing. We walked through the different rooms where the Shogun lived and where he would reside and dine and have his meetings with officers. The floor is called the ‘nightingale floor’ because of the way it squeaks as one walks. This was a special design in order to hear if anybody entered (security reasons). We walked around the gardens and left for Ginkaku Temple. This was a bus trip away and it is also known as the “Silver Pavillion”, however the Shogun’s ambition to cover the building with silver was never realized. Walkways lead through the gardens, which include meticulously raked cones of white sand (probably symbolic of a mountain) tall pines and a pond. There is also a walkway behind the temple up the mountain and the views are brilliant. The colours are even better. We got on another bus and reached Kinkaku Temple. This Golden Temple is one of Japan’s best-known sights and we happened to arrive at sunset when the sun was setting over the water catching the gold of the Temple. Most Temples were converted from Villas where Shoguns used to stay and rule. It was magnificent! We found our way to Shekawati street- a very picturesque street with expensive restaurants so we looked around and left. We searched for a restaurant and it was quite tough to find some plane Japanese food at a reasonable price so we settled for some Japanese-style Chinese food. Kyoto is very pretty with alleyways and waterways (a bit like Venice). The colours are fantastic and almost surreal.
# posted by Heidi & Richard's travels @ 11:59 PM 
