Another perfect day
City tour of Kyoto via oku Japan.
Palace First. The palace is open to visitors for a week in the fall and we got in on the last if crowded day. Standard impressive palace keeping in mind that Kyoto was the capital for 1000 years and has 1000 temples-shrines. Extreme social hierarchy, enthronement ritual as well as gates for different levels of visitors.
Nijo castle – build by a shogun as a Kyoto residence while he was ensconced in what is now Tokyo. Painted screens in each tatami room, each a treasure, with an excellent garden. Pictured are two women with rented kimonos, something done for visiting attractions. Saw this style in other parts of town as well.
Myoshinji zen temple, head temple of this strain of zen. Has several hundred sub temples. Probably the best of the temples we visited as it is working temple with people copying sutras, taking meditation classes, rooms to rent for visits. Wonderful gardens of course. Many pictures on flickr from both Boogs.
Off to this tourist area with more zen temples, shrines, restaurants (udon eaten), bamboo garden, shops.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arashiyama
Tenryuji temple – zen and zen garden Connected to bamboo garden
Boog's Blog 