Kyoto

After only two days in Tokyo, we took the shinkansen to Kyoto. We will spend a few more days in Tokyo at the end of our trip, but we wanted to get to Kyoto for the Gion matsuri.

Our JR passes allowed us to board any Japan Rail Train, but we still had to reserve seats for the shinkansen (at no additional charge, luckily), and find our way through the massive Kyoto and Tokyo Stations to the correct platform. Fortunately, the JR staff all speak English pretty well and we are gradually figuring out the system to the apparent chaos of the transportation system. David's ability to read kanji (Chinese characters that were integrated into the Japanese language) gives us a limited impression of what's happening.

The shinkansen was very impressive: clean, comfortable, and precisely on-time. Many travelers purchase bento boxes on the train for their lunches, and we did the same. We bought two types of bento boxes, both containing an assortment of pickled vegetables, fish, tofu, and rice. Later, we learned that we could get a wider assortment of bento boxes at stores in the train stations for a better price.

A bento box with clams, fish and beef. A mostly vegetarian box with umeboshi (pickled plums).

The award-winning Kyoto Station is a huge complex with 11 floors, including offices, shops, a hotel, and a theater. We stayed across the street in the Kyoto Tower Hotel, topped by the 100-meter-tall Kyoto Tower. Binoculars on the tower's observation deck allowed us to spot most of the points of interest in Kyoto. We lucked out because the day we chose to go up the tower was sunny and clear instead of hazy, as the weather typically is. We could even see the skyscrapers of Osaka in the distance to the south.

The impressive architecture of Kyoto Station's main hall. Kyoto Tower at night.

The Gion matsuri is a festival that was originally held in the year 869 to ward off disease. Various guilds and sections of the city sponsor floats, each representing a different Buddhist or Shinto legend. The floats are hung with tapestries, and many of them hold life-size representations of deities or other important figures. During the festival, the floats are parked inside wooden enclosures across the city, and decorated with lanterns that are lit up at night. On the culminating day of the festival, men dressed in traditional costumes pull the floats in a parade that lasts several hours and completely halts normal activity in Kyoto. The largest floats are crowned with poles several stories high and are pulled by more than fifty people.

A float at night with revelers. A float dedicated to Kannon, goddess of mercy.

Besides the attraction of the floats, the Gion matsuri boasts a large-scale street fair with stalls selling food and souvenirs. We tried pineapple on a stick, takoyaki (fried octopus), and dango (mochi on a stick). While we were messily eating yakiniku (grilled meat on a stick) on the side of a street, a group of people started taking pictures of us. Apparently, gaijin (foreigners) are just that interesting!


Many people attending the matsuri were dressed in traditional outfits.

Kyoto is the old imperial capital of Japan. The city and its vicinity contain a large number of famous cultural locations, including several World Heritage Sites. There are literally hundreds of Buddist temples and Shinto shrines in Kyoto. In fact, a lot of the bus stops are named after the temples and shrines in the vicinity.

The architecture of Buddist temples is similar to classical Chinese temples, but much less ornate. Shinto shrines are traditionally marked with the distinctive red torii. Over Japan's long history, Buddhism and Shintoism have mixed and many Japanese people combine elements of both religion in their lives. This fusing of religions is evident in the temples as well: sometimes you find a torii in front of a Buddhist temple, for instance.

Typical Buddhist temple from top of Kyoto Tower. Typical torii, with inscriptions.

We visited Nijo Castle, best known for its elaborate interior design. It has a couple of moats and wonderful gates and gardens, but Nijo lacks the impressive fortifications of other Japanese castles. Instead, its best feature is the hallway in the main building complex. The floor of the hallways was built with a double layer of wood planks with nails inserted between to squeak when the floorboards are stepped on. The purpose was to detect stealthy intruders such as ninjas or assassins. Even five hundred years later, these nightengale floors still work perfectly.

Main gate of Nijo Castle. Ninomaru complex in Nijo Castle.

Sally and David visited a couple of temples with dry gardens to get inspiration for the rock garden we are going to build in our backyard. Ryoanji is a World Heritage Site with a garden that consists of gravel and fifteen rocks of various sizes. Visitors are supposed to sit in front of the garden and contemplate the meaning of the rock arrangements, but it was difficult for us to do so in the 90-degree, 90-percent-humidity weather.

We also visited the Golden Pavilion, a two-story building plated with gold. It was jammed with both local and foreign tourists. Everyone is impressed by gold, especially with the price nowadays!

Rock garden with carefully raked gravel. Golden Pavilion and reflection.

We also took day trips to the Fushimi Inari Shrine, famous for its thousands of torii, and Himeji Castle (see related pages).


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Tokyo Part 1
Himeji Castle
Fushimi Shrine
Hiroshima and Miyajima
Takayama
Kiso Valley
Tokyo Part 2
Food
Japan and the War (Under construction)
Miscellaneous (Under construction)