Kyoto

Until the 19th Century the capital city of Japan, Kyoto is still considered the cultural capital (Wikipedia) with its ancient temples, shrines, and gardens. We travelled there by Shinkansen from Tokyo on Sunday 28th April and stayed two nights in the Ryokan Kitanoya, a traditional Japanese guest house. Staying in the ryokan was a delightful experience. We had been told that, back in 1991,  many ryokans would not accept western visitors because they “would not know how to behave”. However our stay was booked for us by one of our Japanese hosts (I think Professor Toba’s secretary in Sendai) who assured the ryokan of our behaviour!

Photo Gallery: Ryokan Kitanoya and Kyoto…

Places we visited while in Kyoto included: Nanzen-ji and Taizō-in, both Zen Buddhist Temples; the Kiyomizu-dera Buddhist Temple which overlooks the city; Sanjūsangen-dō a Tendai Buddhist temple in the Higashiyama district, and Jishō-ji, known as the Temple of the Silver Pavilion (Ginkaku-ji). The 390 foot long hall of the latter has a thousand carved images of the Kannon Bodhisattva on the inside and a veranda which was used for a famous archery contest along its side. Of course we also visited the Ryoanji Temple with its dry stone landscape garden.

Photo Gallery: Ryoanji  and Taizo-in Temples…

Memento Gallery: Leaflets and Guides…