Kyoto 20121025

Hi all,

Today Kyoto was on the program, just for one day, we will come back later. But we thought to stay one day here and grab some sightseeing on the way. Kyoto has a lot to offer regarding culture and things to see. So i made a selection what to do today. One of the first thing to see was of course Kinkakuji, the Golden Temple:

I think it is one of the nicest places to see, it has a nice history, it was during a time when the ruling Shogun spent a lot of money on an extravagant life. Some say the Golden temple is the only nice thing that is left from the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

Next stop was the Ryoanji Temple, it is said to have one of the most famous rock gardens. At first i wasn't to excited, but after a time, the Zen garden give a serenity and makes you calm :).

An interesting fact is that from each view at least on rock is hidden, in total there are 15 rocks.

Near the Royanji Temple some nice views of ordinary streets :).

Next was a tour in English of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, this was for a long time the place where the emperor lived. An important gate of the place, which was quite big:

Typical housing in that time, i like the architectural style, simple but attractive.

Whenever the emperor and empress wanted to relax, they were sitting between these 2 lions

The Imperial palace garden, was quite nice, like all gardens in Japan. Relaxing and calm.

A nice bridge to cross over, in the middle of the garden.

Next to the imperial palace one can find the Nijo castle, here is where the Shogun lived during the time when Kyoto was the capital of Japan.

Again a nice garden which is as always calming.

Within the castle a lot of paintings can be found.

As can be seen the Nijo castle has a lot more detail and work than the imperial palace.

In the evening we went to the Gion district, trying to spot some Geisha :). The Gion district is really nice and the old Japanese atmosphere is there.

Some Japanese in traditional clothing, they asked if i could take a picture of them, so i did :).

Pontocho street, a small street which is a dining area, of course i had dinner there and of course it was delicious :).

In a store on the train station i saw Kitkat, with some taste which will not be a succes in the Netherlands i think. I like the wasabi flavor the most :).

A nice day in Kyoto it was, will be back in a couple of days. because there is much more to see :).

Cheers,