first place we went in kyoto was golden pavilion temple. it was beautiful and obviously very gold!

we had traditional macha tea and treats with gold leaf on it at the tea house. also picked up some japanese charms for our family members.

then we went to nijo castle. we weren't allowed to take any pictures inside but there were amazing paintings everywhere on the sliding doors especially shogun's rooms. you can kinda seem some on the link. the most amazing feature was the "nightingale floors" in the corridors. it was to protect the occupants from sneak attacks and assassins, so the builders constructed the floors of the corridors in such a way as to squeak like birds when anyone walks on them. we actually took a pictures of the "mechanism" which was a clamp underneath the floor that moves up and down to cause friction between the nail to produce sounds continuously. how did they think about that back in the day?

very ornate gate, again it's amazing how they did that all by hand back in the day. the main palace has a really big yard with pond there. and you can see the nightingale floor "mechanism" on the picture. it doesn't look like much but sure they work pretty well. there were chrysanthemum flower competition right before the gate and of course, you see the moat all the way around the castle outside.

after that was kiyomizu temple. this temple was built in 1633. the location for this temple is very pretty since it sits right next to the mountain and you have to go up a hill to get to this temple.

walking up hill to get to the temple, tons of people! this temple is known for it's beautiful scenery and location but the other well know thing is the otowa waterfall which has 3 streams of natural spring water and drinking this water brings wisdom, health, and longevity (yes, we had to wait in line to drink the water!). so we got a little cup to make kai drink some too.

next stop was fushimi inari shrine. this is the largest inari shine in japan and torii (red gates) tunnel goes forever to the top of inari mountain. this shrine has foxes everywhere and they use them as god of harvest (rice and cereals).

it was getting dark when we got here but we got to walk around for a while. the numbers of torii is amazing, it just never ends!! it was definitely pretty place and i would like to come back here when the sun is still out.

next and the final stop was kyoto station, the second largest train station in japan. this 15-story train station is huuuuuge! it has department stores, shopping malls, nice hotel, movie theater, and has underground "restaurant street" that has more than 100 restaurant. the xmas tree was huuuuge also and was pretty.

just really cool modern architecture to look at. in front of kyoto station is the kyoto tower which is the tallest structure in kyoto and has hotel and stores underneath the tower. this was our trip to kyoto, very long and exciting day for sure. thanks for reading on my super long post this time. :)

Posted by m+d at November 12, 2008 12:31 PM