Kyoto Day 2- Castles, Temples, and Shrines- and a little FIRE!

All I knew of Kyoto before arriving here, is that it was the Imperial capital city of Japan for over a thousand years.  Of course, Tokyo is the capital city of modern Japan.

And with that thought, how many of you joined me in a moment of 'the lightbulb clicks on' and you realized that Tokyo is an anagram to Kyoto??  Riiiiiiiiiiiiight?!?!  You think they planned it that way?

I never had a desire to visit Tokyo, as to me it is just another modern mega city, population 13 million.  With the greater metropolis area, it is over 36 million.  Kyoto, on the other hand, has a population of 1.5 million.  Like Beijing, the appeal to Kyoto is it's rich history; the historical sites, temples, shrines, and other landmarks.  I was excited to get out and explore :)

Herb powered us up with a home cooked breakfast before we walked to Nijo-jo Castle, which became the Imperial Villa when it was built in 1603.

Check another UNESCO World Heritage site off the list!

Walking through the Kara-mon Gate was spectacular!

The Kara-mon Gate, Ninomaru-goten Palace, and
the Ninomaru Garden are unique survivals of the
Edo period, the golden age of Japanese architecture
and design. Though restored in 2013, the gate
encompasses the ornate architecture of the Edo period.

We were greeted by this young lady who was
conducting a research project of where the
visitors to Ninomaru-goten Palace hail from-
we proudly placed our stickers beneath Old Glory :)

The Ninomaru-goten Palace is a series of six connected buildings
with 33 rooms. As you walk along the corridors to peer in to the
many rooms with tatami mats, the floorboards make a unique
creaking sound which sounds like birds singing.  Called the
'Nightingale Corridors' it was fitting for the many painted
murals of cherry blossoms, trees, flowers, and birds which could
be found in each room of the palace. It was a soothing sound, really.

Though it was a chilly grey day, the
Ninomaru Gardens were still very pretty.

I can imagine it being a beautiful place
to meditate and ponder the meaning of life.

Though it was a chilly December day, there was still some blooms to be found.

I am fascinated by the architecture in the East.

While the kids walked up to the base of a keep
tower, I stayed down below.  I caught sister zooming
in with her camera, so I decided to strike a pose :)
The six story wooden keep tower was struck by
lightening in 1750 and was never rebuilt, but
the stone ramparts still provide great views of
the Palace and the city of Kyoto.

And with that, we bid goodbye to Nijo-jo
Castle and were on to the next stop...

...it was lunchtime, so we headed back to Kyoto Station where
we had our choice of restaurants. I had a delicious curry. So
far, Japanese food has been incredible! If you look in the
distance of the far right window panel, you can see our
next stop- To-ji Temple.  Kyoto is so easy to navigate with
their bus system, and you can ride all day for $5.00!

The five stories pagoda of To-ji Temple is the
highest in Japan at 55m tall. 

The original pagoda was built in the 9th century, but
was destroyed four times by fire. The present structure
was built in 1644 and is still an impressive sight.

The pagoda is only open to the public for special
occasions, but the Kodo (Lecture Hall) was open and
had 21 beautiful golden Buddha statues placed according
to a mandala that is central to Shingon Buddhism. While
the original hall was built in 835, the present building was
erected in 1491.  Look at the lines of the timbers- they
looked like giant Lincoln logs.  I was awestruck.

Here you get an idea of the of how the timbers
are all interlocked- no nails! And as always in
most sacred sites, there is protection provided
by the Shisa, a lion/dog gargoyle or statue. One
typically has his mouth open, to ward off evil
spirits, and the other has his mouth closed, to
keep the good spirits in. The Shisa originated
in the Ryukyuan culture of Okinawa Island,
where Ellie and Herb are presently stationed.

The temple gardens were beautifully landscaped, too. I can only
imagine what it looks like in the spring when the cherry trees blossom.

The pagoda is built with interlocking logs, which
can absorb the energy of an earthquake. The force of
the vibrations of a quake will cause the pagoda to
do a 'snake dance', as the vibrations lessen when
they move to the upper stories. Such engineering!
So far, it is a red letter day already, and we've only
 crossed two items off the list for the day :)))

Next we took the bus to the southeast corner of Kyoto
to the Fushimi Inari Shrine. This is the main gate to
the multiple shrines set along the mountain as you
hike up- and it's FREE!

First stop was to receive a drink of 'holy water'
(a natural spring) before we started our hike. 

Kitsune (or fox) statues are regarded as messengers
which are unique to Inari shrines which is the
god of rice.  In present day, Inari is worshiped
as the patron of business.

There are 10,000 torii, (gates) which line the
2.5 mile path up the mountain.  The tori were donated
by patrons and merchants in the Edo period from
from 1603-1868.  As a torii is placed, a wish is made
to Inari for their fortune or business- or Inari is
thanked for a wish that came true. Interesting.

With that, we started the two hour hike up-
through the 10,000 torii.  While the shrine is
open 24 hours, it was clear to us that we
were not going to stay past nightfall!

There are dozens of shrines along the path,
to make your offering of prayer to Inari- or
in our case, to catch a much needed breather!!!
Kitsune were at every shrine. This fox had a
key in his mouth which represents a key to
the rice granary of centuries ago.

Several million worshipers will make the
pilgrimage annually, particularly over
the Japanese New Year. Many choose to
rent traditional dress to wear for the hike.

Absolutely stunning.

Traditional Japanese is written vertically
and read from right to left.  I wish I knew
what these inscriptions said that were carved
in the mountain at the base of another shrine.
It was quickly getting dark, so we decided
to head back down. We didn't make it to the top :(

For dinner we went to Ramen University which offers a
cooking class in Ramen during the day.  At night, it is a very
popular restaurant- very quaint, it only seats about 15 people.
Plan to wait a bit; but it is so, so worth it!  I ordered a
Coca Cola, and since it was near the Christmas holiday,
it came packaged...the owner showed me what to do...

How clever!

The ramen was to die for. Seriously, I thought I was going
to die...they set it on fire when serving! It was scorching HOT!

You can hear me say, "Wow! That was crazy!" lol

The bar is looking a little worse for the wear, but I can tell
you this much, it was the best Ramen I have ever had.
Setting in on fire naturally gave it a bit of a smoky
flavor, but it made the broth all the more hearty.
For the experience alone, I would recommend it hands
down, but the ramen was truly AMAZING!

Full bellies and 18k + steps later, we were all
worn out. It was time to call it a night. I
am excited to see what tomorrow brings.
So far, I am loving Kyoto, Japan!
(not as much as he loves her <3 )

G'nite, y'all!