The train ride to Kyoto was very nice. We were staying at the Westin Miyako, and they had a concierge office in the train station.
This was easier to say that it was to find. That train station is HUGE (Photos by and by). Kyoto is about a million and a half people, but there is certainly a lot of train traffic there. We had to wander about a while, but finally found the Westin office. They said they couldn't check us in, but the shuttle bus was just about to leave.
So we got to the hotel in good order. It was a very pretty day. Here is the view from our little balcony:
I think that was the last day we saw the sun for quite some time.
(We ate that night at a place called Oku. If I have enough energy later, I will post some bad photos from that interesting little restaurant)
The next day we woke up to a much cloudier city:
Regardless of the weather, we decided to head to the Nijo castle.
This was a castle build by the Shogun from the Clavell book Shogun. (Tokugawa). It is 275,000 acres, 8,000 acres under roof.
It has some huge gates.
It was raining off and on all day. We had two umbrellas with us.
Here I am, looking like a Shogun. Or at least an Anjin-san.
There is really not much that is "old" in Japan. Almost all wooded structures have been burned down, or firebombed. (Kyoto was one of the original targets for the second atomic bomb. But one admiral went there on his honeymoon and vetoed it as a target). Most stone structures were destroyed in earthquakes. I think that most of the walls here are original, or have been reconstructed to original spec.
The wood has been recarved:
and they are pretty cool:
(so are we)
Detail:
More detail:
The structures all look like this. This is really a castle, a military structure. But you can see from the walls (sharp corners) they didn't have cannons.
More carvings:
I have always heard these called "French" drains. I guess they are Japanese drains.
The gardens themselves are really beautiful. They must be spectacular in the spring (flowers) and in the fall (leaves). But the combination of texture, color, and shape challenge the eye anywhere you look:
All over. I love those horizontally trained pine trees:
and the birds:
The ponds are very well integrated into the landscape:
as is the moat:
This is a rock garden on the castle grounds:
We saw this little fellow in the city of Kyoto. I think it is a Shiba Itsu, but it is carrying his own luggage:
This was easier to say that it was to find. That train station is HUGE (Photos by and by). Kyoto is about a million and a half people, but there is certainly a lot of train traffic there. We had to wander about a while, but finally found the Westin office. They said they couldn't check us in, but the shuttle bus was just about to leave.
So we got to the hotel in good order. It was a very pretty day. Here is the view from our little balcony:
I think that was the last day we saw the sun for quite some time.
(We ate that night at a place called Oku. If I have enough energy later, I will post some bad photos from that interesting little restaurant)
The next day we woke up to a much cloudier city:
Regardless of the weather, we decided to head to the Nijo castle.
This was a castle build by the Shogun from the Clavell book Shogun. (Tokugawa). It is 275,000 acres, 8,000 acres under roof.
It has some huge gates.
It was raining off and on all day. We had two umbrellas with us.
Here I am, looking like a Shogun. Or at least an Anjin-san.
There is really not much that is "old" in Japan. Almost all wooded structures have been burned down, or firebombed. (Kyoto was one of the original targets for the second atomic bomb. But one admiral went there on his honeymoon and vetoed it as a target). Most stone structures were destroyed in earthquakes. I think that most of the walls here are original, or have been reconstructed to original spec.
The wood has been recarved:
and they are pretty cool:
(so are we)
Detail:
More detail:
The structures all look like this. This is really a castle, a military structure. But you can see from the walls (sharp corners) they didn't have cannons.
More carvings:
I have always heard these called "French" drains. I guess they are Japanese drains.
The gardens themselves are really beautiful. They must be spectacular in the spring (flowers) and in the fall (leaves). But the combination of texture, color, and shape challenge the eye anywhere you look:
All over. I love those horizontally trained pine trees:
and the birds:
The ponds are very well integrated into the landscape:
as is the moat:
This is a rock garden on the castle grounds:
We saw this little fellow in the city of Kyoto. I think it is a Shiba Itsu, but it is carrying his own luggage:
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