Dad's Visit Continued

After a couple rainy days, things seemed to be clearing up - at least enough. So dad and I headed to Kyoto again to catch some more sights. Kyoto, of course, is on of those tourist Meccas that can keep you amazed for weeks on end. There is so much to see. Russell and I really need to go explore it more because we have really only hit the core attractions. There's tons more to do and see.

While dad was here we decided to first hit Kinkakuji (the golden pagoda) and then head accross town to Ginkakuji (the silver pagoda). I had been to the first, but never to the second. When we arrived at Kinkakuji it was pretty over cast and just starting to rain. By the time we got in the gate it was officially miserable outside. We tried to take some half-hearted pictures of the pagoda but right about then a digestive emergency caught up to us and we had to make a hasty run for the exit. Emergency averted, we used our tickets to go back inside the temple. This time we had perfect luck. Just as we were entering, the sun burst out and we got a gorgeous view. Those are the pictures you are seeing now. We meandered through the grounds again at a much more relaxed pace and then headed to Ginkakuji.

Russell took some friends to Ginkakuji early in our stay, but I was working and hadn't ever made it. I have to say, compared to Kinkakuji, Ginkakuji is way more awesome. The pagoda itself isn't as impressive (no gold - no silver either) but the gardens around the pagoda are far superior and the homeliness of the pagoda is much more endearing than Kinkakuji - which comes across a bit as opulent for opulent's sake.

This picture is also from Ginkakuji. Next to the pagoda, you can see a white rock garden. This was different than any other rock garden I have seen in Japan. The rocks are deep and dug out into perfect shapes. There is a mount that is carefully sculpted in one corner and the rocks are dug into deep trenches along the majority of the garden. This doesn't look anything like gardens that have been carefully raked - it looks hand sculpted. As you walk around it, you keep getting new and scenic views of the surrounding trees and rocks. Its really impressive. After the rock garden is a hike up a hillside with Japanese gardens on either side mixed in amongst the trees. I will definitely be coming back.

Unfortunately, Dad and I chose a major travel day to visit Kyoto, so the buses were packed and the streets were super jammed. It took two hours to get from Kinkakuji to Ginkakuji by bus. We easily could have walked it just as fast. We didn't know that when we got on, though. By the time we finished it was just about closing time across Kyoto, so we headed home.

The next day. we were treated to a rare sunny day and decided to go the other direction on the train to Himeji. I didn't realize what we were getting into at the time, but I'm sure glad we went. Himeji castle, as you may remember from before, is one of three major castles in Japan. It is one of the few remaining castles which has the distinction of not having been bombed or burned down in the last few hundred years. It was restored in the 1950s (when they found all sorts of items that had belonged to the previous builders hidden in the walls and rafters). I really like this castle. There are many castles to be seen in Japan, but this one does have a special air to it.

When we arrived, there was a line forming outside of the gates to the castle. The line wasn't too long, and it was early in the morning, so we assumed we had arrived just before opening. We waited about 2 minutes and were then let in. It turns out, though, that we were not the first group to enter the premises. In fact, we were experiencing only a taste of the lines that would start piling up over the next couple of weeks. As it turns out, the castle is due for another refurbishing. After cherry blossom season had ended it was slated to be closed to the public for 6 YEARS. People from all over Japan were making the pilgrimage to see the castle before it was covered up. Once we were inside the gate, we spent 20 minutes waiting to go through the women's dormitory (shown in the pictures with a view of Himeji in the background and a hillside where enemies would try to spy on the castle) and then another good hour waiting to just get into the castle. It easily took another 40 minutes to make our way up all the stories to the top. It was incredibly crowded. I assumed at the time that it was just normal cherry blossom traffic (Himeji castle is a famous place to go enjoy the cherry blossoms) but it seemed a little extreme since the blossoms were only barely starting to peek out. Now I know better.

We had originally planned to meet up with one of my friends for a cherry blossom party on the way back to Kobe, but she ended up getting sick, so we opted to head back to the city and take a gondola up to the top of one of the mountains framing the city. This particular mountain was new to me. It has a botanic garden at the top, so we took the ride up, shot some video of the city and then enjoyed the garden. It turns out the botanic garden is more like a botanic zoo - with a variety of species of plants from other countries (as opposed to local varieties of plans). It includes tropical fruits, spice plants and plants used for various perfumes. It was interesting, if a little stinky. Russell had recommended walking down from the botanic garden (as opposed to returning on the gondola) but it was getting dark when we finished, so we played it lazy and let the gondola do the work.