Parent Visit Part II: Kyoto

By far, our favorite city in Japan is Kyoto.  Kyoto was the capital of Japan for several centuries and is the cultural center of Japan.  As a result, there are several stunning buildings, gardens, and sites scattered throughout the city.  

We arrived in Kyoto in the afternoon, and instead of trying to cram in too much, we opted to walk to Ginkaku-ji (the silver pavilion).  The pavilion was built several centuries ago and the original plan called for using silver leafing to coat the exterior of the shrine.  However, the patron ran out of money before he could complete his vision.  Nonetheless, the surrounding garden is one of my favorites in Japan.

The following day we started out at Kinkaku-ji, which is better known as the Golden Pavilion.  As you can see from the pics below, it is a stunning site.

Next on the list was Ryoan-ji and its famous "dry landscape" garden, which consists of some well placed rocks in a rock garden.  Nice grounds, but the rock part itself to me was a little like modern art: people claim it's deep and amazing, but I'm convinced my 3 year old daughter could do roughly the same thing.

Here are the bamboo forests of Arashiyama.  The forests are spectacular, especially when the wind blows through them.

Then on to Tenryu-ji.

Finally, we ended our first, very packed full day in Kyoto at Nanzen-ji.

 

The next day, we started out at Fushimi-inari.  This shrine is spread out over an entire mountain.  The unique thing is that the trails leading up the mountain are lined with torii gates, which form a long tunnel.  Very cool place.

Next, we hit Kiyomizu-dera, which is this ancient wooden temple famous for its views and being built on stilts.

 

Finally, we ended by strolling through the old, preserved section of Kyoto called Gion and seeing Kodai-ji temple.  We loved the old, small, meandering streets lined with small wooden buildings that housed restaurants or shops.