We removed our shoes and got just a quick glimpse inside as the guards were slamming those massive wooden doors closed for the day at 4:00.
We are guessing that we walked between 10 and 15 miles this day, seeing the sights of Kyoto. We managed to order and consume our first real Japanese meal--Sobu noodles and pork. The only utensils were chopsticks, so we are either going to have to learn to eat with them or starve. We are finding many restaurants have plasticized models of their meals in a glass case out front, so you can see what you are ordering before it arrives in front of you.
We also are managing to find ice cream for a snack each day. We've seen many over-sized cones in the past, but only in Japan will you see their favorite flavor--green tea ice cream.
We are finding that it gets dark between 4:30 and 5:00 here, so the touring days are short. We were in search of the section of town known as Gion, walking around the dark sections of Kyoto, when this barber pole came disconnected and hit Denisa on the foot. A foot closer, and she would have been seeing stars and stripes!
We finally found the bright lights of Gion and the shopping district of Kyoto. Even though it was dark outside, it felt like daytime under the lights.
We had heard that the Kyoto train station was a destination in itself, so we headed there on the first evening. The atrium area is 15 stories high, with some of the longest escalators we have ever seen. Unknown to us, the long staircase beside the escalators was lit up with tiny bulbs that first spelled a welcoming message.
Then the lights changed to a red flower motif, as some of the shoppers were making their way down the steps.
There were many more light displays, but this was our favorite. The autumn colored leaves would disconnect from their light bulb stems and float down the steps randomly. It was an awesome display, and quite a crowd had gathered at the base of the steps to watch.
We rode the escalators to the very top, but the display is much prettier from the bottom. Denisa just wanted to be in the middle of all those lights.
We got a view of the city skyline from the observation deck on the top of the train station . . .
including a view of the top of Kyoto Tower. The view of the city would have been better from the top of the tower, but that was an expensive ride. Our view was free.The view from the inside of the station down to the bottom was pretty neat as well.
The weatherman had predicted rain for the next morning, and unfortunately he was right. We opted for plan B, which would include an activity with a roof over our heads. That would be a walk through Nishiki Market. It is five blocks long with over 100 shops selling traditional Japanese food, including lots of questionable things served on a stick.
This market is known as "Kyoto's Kitchen" and it is always full of buyers and sellers. We took pictures of lots of things that we still have no idea what they were.
There were plenty of opportunities to taste samples. We are very adventurous eaters, but some of this was too slimy or too fresh from the sea for even us to try.
This wasn't a touristy place, because we hadn't seen any signs in English. But then we saw an English explanation for this octopus-on-a-stick delicacy that included a quail egg in the head. As good as that might sound to you, we didn't buy one.
We assumed that eggs were always sold by the dozen all over the world. But in a country driven by the metric system, it just makes sense to sell them in groups of ten. We never found out what kind of fowl laid the smaller, speckled eggs in the picture.
We eat lots of fresh fruit when we are on the road, but we are finding that it is very expensive in Asia. The peaches are huge, but 900 yen is about $8.00 each. That little bag of grapes would cost about $9, and each pear was $3.50.
Denisa has always enjoyed going to markets and grocery stores in foreign countries, so this was a great stop for her. There were a few clothing items, like these wooden shoes.
Because of the rain (and to save our legs), this second day we decided to buy a subway pass. Mark took a picture of the crowd inside. Later, we would come to find out that the Tokyo subways will hold three times more people in an average subway car.
We used that subway pass to get us closer to the market, and then to the Imperial Palace. Kyoto was Japan's capitol after Nara and before it was moved to Tokyo. Many of the buildings on the grounds of the palace are painted a bright orange. A guide told us that is because orange is the color of power. Our son who graduated from OSU already knew that.
The outside grounds of the palace are normally opened by reservation only. But we were visiting during one of the two weeks each year that it is wide open to the public. These massive doors are hinged at the top, and are usually swung closed to hide the detailed oriental painting on the walls inside. But today it was open and we could see it for ourselves.
It was still raining, but there were throngs of Japanese people taking advantage of the open doors to the Imperial Palace. You will notice that Mark is the only person in the crowd without an umbrella.
After walking around a dozen different buildings in the 27-acre Palace complex, the rain was subsiding as we made it to the last stop in the Emperor's private garden. The reflection of the trees in the water were beautiful even without blue skies today.
Down the road is Maruymana Park, showing off its pretty Japanese maple trees.
Our path into the hills took us through narrow walking lanes with shops and restaurants on both sides. This is an area known as the Philosopher's Path. Even though most people were dressed like us, we were surprised at the number of people walking slowly through the area in their kimonos. We discovered that walking slowly is their only option with the tight kimono skirts and the wooden sandals. They seemed to like to pose for pictures when asked.
Even though we saw more women dressed in traditional Japanese clothing than men, we saw many couples that seemed to be enjoying a traditional date stroll together.
But the highlight of our human sightings had to be the two geisha girls strolling down the narrow brick roads.
We stopped for a snack from a store front that looked and smelled tasty. It was a yeast bun with a meat and cabbage mixture inside, and it reminded us of the German bierox that we make back home. We had to eat it quickly, however, because the guard at our next destination pointed out that no food was allowed.
Known as Kiyomizudera temple, it is another world heritage site. First built in 798, it has another large group of buildings to explore.
We weren't sure why a Buddhist temple would be painted that powerful orange color, but they used several gallons here.
We are finding these rails with paper notes tied to them at many temples. We read that believers can get a paper copy of their fortune when they visit the temple. If it isn't good news, it can be tied and left here in hopes of a change in fortune.
The detail on the rafters and above the doorways was very interesting.
The temple grounds made a beautiful back drop for this couple's pictures.
These temple grounds are enveloped in the mountains. From the distance you can see the crowd of people on the balcony of the main hall. You can also see the building in the middle of picture, completely shrouded by a tan tarp covering the restoration project going on here too. We peeked behind the covering, seeing that each ceiling tile had been removed, and was individually numbered so that it could be put back together at the end of the project.
Below the main hall is the Otowa-no-taki waterfall where visitors can use long-handled cups to gather water from the falls. This traditionally dressed couple is at the front of a long line that will drink the sacred water said to bestow love, school success, and longevity from the three spouts.
Kyoto was also our first location to see rickshaws in the street. Still an expensive ride, most of the tourists in them were taking lots of pictures. We even saw one female rickshaw driver.
After reaching the point of temple-overload, we needed some nourishment. We decided to try the vending machine ordering system that many Japanese eateries use. There were pictures and some English and Japanese descriptions lit up on the right side of the kiosk. In front of Denisa is the vending machine where the yen bill is inserted, and the button for our choice of meal pushed. We got back our change and a slip of paper that we handed to the cook inside the cafe. We received our bowl of noodles and rice with beef almost instantly. We probably should have thought over our choice, because it turned out to be a standing-room-only dining counter, and our tired legs would have appreciated a seat.
As tired as you are from reading about Kyoto, our legs were even more tired. After ten miles of walking, we were exhausted and overloaded with the rich cultural sites of Kyoto. There are 17 different world heritage sites in this single city, and it would take weeks to see them all. We had to be content with our rain-shortened itinerary here, as we headed back to the ultra-modern train station. Such a dichotomy of old and new, we would agree that Kyoto is a must-see on any Japan itinerary.
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