May 27

Kyoto - Rest Day


Well, I'm feeling pretty pooped for a "rest day".  I was on the go for about 12 hours - trying to see as many sights as I could.  I had my wish list, but it was a challenge to get to all of them.  By the end of the day I accomplished what I had set out to do, but could have spent more time in a few of them.

A bonus on the way to the Nijo Castle was a little garden called Shinsen-en Garden.  Very pretty.





Then over to Nijo-Jo Castle - a former Imperial Villa and World Heritage Site.  The site is HUGE!  Two palaces, multiple beautiful gardens and numerous smaller buildings.  In the interest of time I just toured the outside grounds.  The grounds cover about 68 acres, with a perimeter of 2 km.  










To be continued..............


Even early in the morning the place was hopping.  Lots of bus tours and hundreds of school children.  



So, so many bikes in use by the locals.  No one wears a helmet.  Most are ergonomically inefficient, but they all just cruise along in their street clothes and I must say they are all very competent riders.  Here are a couple of family-sized rides.  


A school bus?  Which one is driving?


Next up - the Imperial Palace and grounds.  Another biggy; this one was 155 acres.   There was a walled area within the larger park that housed the Imperial Palace.  We got into the grounds, but the palace was not open to the public.  Nice audio tour available.  Some pics below.



Next up - Nishiki Market.  ..............  Very, very busy and crowded.  Lots of interesting-looking food choices, but I had already eaten.  



Then to a surprising treat - Higashi Honganji Temple, a huge complex (about 25 acres).  The main building (Founders Hall) had a ceremony/service going on.  The public were welcome to go in, but no pictures allowed.  I wish I had discretely turned on an audio recording though; the voices (and gongs) were so beautiful!  Reminded me of a temple ceremony we were welcomed in to in the Upper Mustang region of Nepal.  ............  In any case, we were allowed to take pics in one of the other buildings.


Time to hoof it to the main train station - Gokyo Station and catch a train to the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shinto Shrine.  ...............  Beautiful, but sooooooooo many people.  In the interest of time I didn't go all the way to the top.  


Coming down, I noticed this beautiful Japanese script on all the pillars.  I was thinking maybe they were profound Japanese sayings.  No - sponsors names (companies & executives). 



Back to Gokyo Station were I caught the 16:45 blue line hop-on, hop-off bus for a tour of the east route.  Same comment as yesterday - you don't see much from the bus; you actually would have to get off at all the stops and walk to the sites.  Oh well; it was a good chance to rest and listen to the audio descriptions.  I thought I might get off in the Gion District (Geishas), but I was ready to be done.  People who did wander around there didn't really see any geishas unless they booked a tour.  


Dinner at the station, and a train back to the hotel.  Whew.........  bedtime.............  Back on the bike tomorrow.










Comments

  1. Lynn CJune 10, 2026 at 7:16 AM

    Joe' birthday... We were in Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. A lovely small town with a huge castle up on the hill. We had a walking tour of the town by a really good guide. we ended the walking tour at the castle where Joe and I bought tickets for a tour inside. Boy was that worth it! The rooms were exquisitely furnished and it was very ornate and beautiful! We had a nice dinner with the group at an outdoor cafe and toasted Joe...

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