In the morning J and I got another bus pass and headed up to Kinkaku-ji- the golden temple. I had been told that this was one of Kyoto’s spectacular sights that couldn’t be missed…ah ha. It was nice, but nothing special. Compared to the golden temple in Amritsar it was a million times less spectacular. It was built in 1397 but burnt to the ground in 1950 by a mad monk. So the current construction is a 1955 replica. I think the mad monk thing is the best bit!
these are our prayer candles..they work too!
We then jumped on a bus and trundled down to Nijo-jo in central Kyoto. Built in 1603 this was the first residence of the Tokugawa shogun. It has two palaces, two moats, nice gardens and stuff. The Ninomaru palace is the main building and is a great sight. Not only is it ostentatious and lavishly adorned, but inside was really interesting. It was designed so that the floor boards would all squeak so that any intruders would be detected. It also had sharp corners and an odd layout to also catch any intruders out. In the main rooms used by the shogun, there are also concealed doors where bodyguards would wait, ready to pounce. The paintings on the sliding doors were nice too and looked very well for their age. A great visit.
We were really tired after our mad day on Saturday and these two visits on Sunday so after seeing the palace, we headed to the station to have 126\ sushi (why 126\?), which was delicious. After an omiyage stop, we climbed on to the train to have a sleepy ride home-not in the smoking carriage.
An AMAZING weekend!
1 comment:
Our weekend was amazing! I can't stop thinking about it. I can't wait to travel together again. My only comment is that you seemed to have forgotten the quail egg and natto sushi. It looked dericious.
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