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Although a very large and bustling modern city, Kyoto and its environs are filled with very significant (and fascinating) historical and cultural sites, most of which seem to be World Heritage Sites. Our first day in Kyoto with our guide from Osaka was a full one.

Among many interesting features were the so-called “nightingale” floors (tweet, tweet) around the wooden castle’s perimeter. They were designed with metal nails underneath to squeak as a warning of Ninja attack.

We next headed to Kinkaku-ji, a temple in a Golden Pavillion.

Built at the end of the 14th century, the Golden Pavillion has gold leaf over lacquer covering the exterior of the top two floors. Each floor represents a different style, with the first level in the style of the 11th century imperial aristocracy (more traditional, if you will), the second in the style of the warrior aristocracy and the top level in a Chinese style.

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was a shogun during the Marumachi era (early 14th to late 16th centuries) and created the buildings and garden to represent “the Pure Land of Buddha in this world.” Among other things, the Shogun used the Pavillion as a guest house for the Emperor. According to his wishes, his son converted it into a temple on his death.

Medieval Jizo statues are a protection for travelers, children and the weak.

Sekka tei teahouse, sitting well above the Pavillion, is another embodiment of wabi sabi.

Close by the teahouse is Fudo-do temple where the main image for worship is Fudo myoo, a deity who transmits the teachings of the Buddha, battles evil, and helps the recently deceased become buddhas.

We jumped back in our van and headed for Ryoan-ji, a mid15th century temple with a famous rock garden. With our mid-November through early December visit timed perfectly to the peak of the fall foliage season in Kyoto, we became more and more amazed at the wild range of color afforded by the leaves. It was quite stunning.

The arrangement of 15 rocks is such that all 15 can never be seen from one vantage point. After contemplating them for a while, we came to appreciate why the garden is so highly regarded as a place of meditation and why Queen Elizabeth was reportedly so taken with it when she visited some long time ago.

Persimmon trees are everywhere in the region and were ready to be picked. It’s a very popular fruit. One variety is eaten fresh and another is strung up to dry with a cord to sweeten more. Kyle and Ai had a strand of persimmons hanging on the balcony back at the apartment.

The Miho Museum in Shiga Prefecture is well worth the ride out there to see. The museum was designed by I.M. Pei to house the private collection of the founder of the Shumei religion, Mrs. Mihoko Koyama (known as “Miho”). You take a little tram through a hill from the reception area and across a small ravine. 80% of the museum is underground out of respect for nature (an emphasis of Shumei). Of course, to build it underground, the entire hill in which it has been placed was removed and put back after construction. The entrance area affords a view of the Shumei headquarters and a belltower. The collection is a tight overview of artifacts of the ancient world from not only Japan, but also Egypt, West Asia, Greece, Rome, South Asia, China and Islam. The modest size of the museum and attractive display make it an enjoyable place to visit. Photography is not permitted in the galleries, but you can find more photos and info at miho.or.jp, including on the medieval Japanese lacquerware exhibit on show during our visit.

It starts just a few steps from the Inari train station, a series of Torii or gates that define a boundary between profane and sacred space. But here there are thousands upon thousands of them up into the mountain. It feels like an almost infinite transition into ever more sacred space, with what seem to be thousands of small shrines just off the main paths on the mountain slopes leading upwards.

It began pouring rain almost as soon as we disembarked from the train. Although it did dissuade us from going all the way to the inner shrine atop Inari mountain, it likely helped us to avoid larger crowds at this popular shrine. It also gave us photographers a chance to capture those kimono-clad tourists carrying umbrellas.

We couldn’t help but recall walking through The Gates, the Cristo installation in New York’s Central Park, a number of years back with our friend Aidi from Hong Kong. The shrine at Inari was, of course, his visual reference. As inspiring an experience as that was, it was a mere abstraction of the incredibly rich experience of walking through more than a millennium of Shinto devotion. Since the 8th century people have been building structures here to honor the patron of rice and of business. The foxes or kitsune are the messengers of Inari and they are everywhere, many with satchels of rice or keys to the granary in their mouths.

Little did we know just how complicated kimonos are to wear! Naively, we went off to be fitted. 

Nara has a large population of wild deer in the city, especially in Nara Park which has over one thousand. They are protected as National Treasures and are traditionally sacred messengers of the gods. In the 8th century, accidentally killing one was punishable by death. They can get rather aggressive if you don’t just hand over the food!

Our apologies for falling so far behind in keeping our blog postings current! But, alas, our time here is beginning to grow short and we will begin to catch up. Kyoto and Osaka, two of Japan’s largest cities, seem to form one enormous metropolitan area that is held together by lots of rail systems. For our first day out and about, we decided to tackle Osaka with a guide.

There’s a reason they’re called bullet trains. The Nozomi Express Shinkansen train we took from bustling Tokyo station left precisely on time and tore down the track at something over 150 mph. We’ve never had a train ride quite as smooth. It certainly is a great way to travel.

We were fortunate to have gotten seats on the side of the train allowing views of Mount Fuji. It looms out of the landscape all by itself. Hard to miss.

We think of Kyoto as a quaint small town. In reality, it is a very large and modern city and the main train station reflects that.

According to plan, we spent some time at Higashi Hongan-ji Temple (a short walk from the station). It’s the “Eastern Temple of the True Vow.” Much of it was undergoing renovation, but it was a nice introduction to Kyoto.

Guest post by Ken:

On the morning of our journey South, I ventured off to explore on my own. I began the day by braving rush hour traffic and taking the subway to Marunouchi, the center of Tokyo. After arriving at the station, I walked to the “East Gardens of the Imperial Palace”. After waiting a few minutes at the Ote-mon Gate, the gardens opened. These gardens are free and open to the public, but government employees also work on the grounds at various cultural centers.

Ote-mon Gate, the main entrance to the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace.

Fujimi-yagura Keep. As the name might imply, you could see Mt. Fuji from this lookout before skyscrapers were built.

O-bansho Guardhouse. One of many such buildings that housed the Imperial Guard.

After seeing various guardhouses, moats, and imposing walls, I discovered just how the pine trees achieve their beautiful shaping. Each year, groundskeepers prune every tree, mostly by hand. This requires them to climb ladders and sometimes scale the tree limbs.

See if you can spot someone in the tree at top left.

After walking through the gardens, I headed towards the palace gates. The guard was changing as I arrived, and it reminded me of a trip to London many years ago. This complex is not open to the public, but it is still beautiful to view from the outside.

(L to R) Fujimi-yagura Keep from the other side, Kiyo-mon Gate, and Tatsumi-yagura Keep.

The perfectly groomed trees of the Imperial Palace Plaza (Kokyogaien).

The changing of the guard.

Sei Gate to the Imperial Palace in the foreground with Fushimi-yagura Keep in the background.