For the past few days we have explored the beautiful and historic city of Kyoto. Our journey included several attempts to tour the imperial palace only to find it was closed Monday… and Tuesday… which ended up with us getting caught in the rain and fleeing back to our ryokan. But it was well worth the wait!
While redirecting from the imperial palace being closed… again… we took our ryokan host’s recommendation to see the Shimogamo-jinja temple, the the adjoining river and forest. We enjoyed seeing hawks dancing above the river on the way there and back.
On the way to this shrine, we enjoyed another small shrine in which people drew faces on wooden plaques as part of making wishes.
We saw the famous Kinkaku-ji temple in all its golden glory.
…through a large crowd of tourists who all had the same idea.
We took a day trip to our old stomping grounds in Nara, to visit the plump deer that bow for crackers.
And to eat freshly pounded mochi by a peaceful lake.
We saw Nijo Castle as well, which has incredible painted screens and walls, and a chirping floor as a precaution against ninjas! We agreed that we would be willing to live in a similar castle.
Today (Friday) was the first day of the Kyoto antique fair, a three day gathering of incredible antique dealers that happens three times each year. While we managed to avoid purchasing the most beautiful and most expensive set of two folding screens I have ever seen, we were able to score two beautiful scrolls and an ukiyo-e (Japanese print) diptych by Yoshitoshi (one of my favorite artists)!
As with all our travel, this tour has also involved delicious food. From Japanese sweets in private gardens, to okonomiyaki in a tiny local spot, to oyakodon delivered to our room, all the way to a beautiful local kaiseki meal at a one-man restaurant across the street from our ryokan, we have thoroughly enjoyed eating our way around Kyoto’s local specialties.
