Naturally Nihon

This morning, we went to see more bonsai at Daitoku-ji Temple in North Kyoto. Many of these trees are over 200 years old, and one is 800 years old and said to belong to one of the Tokugawa Shoguns. 

With rain forecast, we started with the Kyoto National Museum on the east side, just south of the Gion District. The artefacts here are beautifully presented. We'll spaced out, perfectly lit and all with English plaques explaining what they are. Pottery and tools dating from the Jomon era. Buddhist statues, Samurai swords, scrolls and painted screens. No photos allowed in the museum, so you'll just have to use your imagination. Sorry. Instead, I'm sharing some shots of what real Kyoto looks like... In the afternoon, needing somewhere to sit down, out of the rain, we stopped in at the Kyoto Aquarium. We put aside our concerns that dolphins shouldn't be held captive and just rolled with it. Honestly, we really needed somewhere to sit down! Anyway, the show was fun, and the dolphins got lots of fish, so maybe they didn't do so badly. A brief scoot to the top of the huge Kyoto train station to see the view, th...

After walking nearly 12 miles yesterday, we aimed to ease up a bit today, and failed. Our first stop was the bamboo Grove at Arayashima. Our expectations were not high, and although the bamboo Grove itself really only offers a 200m walkway, it isn't something you see everywhere as the bamboo is frickin' huge! It brought to mind that absurd, yet wonderful fight scene scene from 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'.  Then there was the extraordinary gardens at the temple of Tenryu-ji... But the best thing was the vast array of street food options in Arayashima itself... I found a fan I liked... Then back in Kyoto, Rufus took us to marvel at Yodabashi Camera, which was like PC World on steroids; 4 floors of cameras, watches, TVs, HiFi, white goods and much, much more. Finally, a quick stop into Higashi Hongan-jii, another temple, but LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THIS MOTHER! And this is just the gate into it...

Yesterday evening, Rufus met us at Kyoto Station and then took us to a pizza restaurant nearby that he knew... All three of us are spending the weekend at an apartment that's almost dead centre of the city. Today, Friday, we've packed in the sightseeing, and pretty much all on foot. First there was the old imperial palace, Nijo-jo that was previously the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate until about 1877...   Then we strolled along Taramachi dori, a covered shopping street. After lunch, we crossed over into the Gion District which is famous for geisha and sprinkled liberally with shrines and temples... Lots of people dress in kimono to wander round Kyoto, but most especially around Gion, Japanese and foreign tourists alike. I'm not averse to a bit of cosplay, but white folk in kimono just don't look right to me. So we didn't do that... And today, I'll spare you the pylon and treat you to a display in a Jap...