Post #10 - October 21, 2012 - Kyoto, Japan

Hi, it's Patty writing from our wonderful private hotel room!

What a beautiful thing its is to have your own room. We have all our stuff sprawled out around the place just like home!

Today we both realized we have been pushing ourselves pretty hard physically in order to see every last bit we could possibly see in this amazing city. That's great and all, but by the third temple, you just don't have the same appreciation for the following sights because you're distracted by hunger, fatigue, or heat etc. So  we decided we would take one day a week to just relax with a cup of coffee and read, and plan, and watch the time go by. Unfortunately we won't be able to do this for another couple days when we get to Hiroshima because we leave for Nara tomorrow morning. But, we will make time for this in Hiroshima.

Our first stop today was Nijo-jo castle, and this was by accident. We had totally mapped out our day today from top to bottom and even decided in advance where we would be eating. When we got off at our first bus stop on our way to Daitoku-ji, we happened to land right smack in front of Nijo-jo castle quite conveniently so we headed there. Nijo-jo is an old castle in the middle of this sprawling city of Kyoto. This is one of the reasons Kyoto is so amazing. You have a huge modern city completely fused with ancient/historical sites of the old city everywhere. It's a constant reminder of the past, and how it's evolved into the culture of Japan today. One of the other really cool things about the sites in Kyoto, is that most of the tourists are actually Japanese! I am still so fascinated by the people here. I don't really understand how you could have such an enormous population of people with such pride and respect for their surroundings. Again in Kyoto there's so little garbage around, everything is so clean from the streets, to the restaurants, to the public transportation, to the bathrooms, it's astonishing. And, their respect goes beyond things. They're respectful of the people around them too. Of course some are more polite than others, and I am speaking generally, but the consensus is that Japan's beauty is equally matched by its people. I'd say the only criticism I have of the culture is that it seems to be very sexist. In fact, I read in our Lonely Planet book that of the most powerful first world countries, Japan ranks the lowest in gender equality in the workforce. Women make 66% of what Japanese men earn. And as the book discusses, it's as much a company issue as it is a societal issue. You'd be amazed at how many clothing stores and other retailers are just for women. The women generally seem much more concerned with their appearances than anything else. I can't tell you how many women we saw walking through the bamboo grove and other historical sites in these huge high heels. It wasn't just a couple, it was the majority of them. In the malls, it's mostly all women shopping. And then in the big business areas of Tokyo, it's all men in suits with briefcases. You can definitely see the imbalance of things. Another example I saw last night was the commercials on TV. Two commercials at least, showed men talking down to women, and the women just agreed and nodded submissively. It's very interesting.

Nijo-jo castle was a very neat place. The best part was that we got to go inside the castle, but again we were not allowed to take pictures. Here are some pictures from the exterior:

Unfortunately the pictures don't really tell you much about the castle. The interior was certainly the most interesting part.The castle was built in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence of the Shogun (the hereditary official who governed Japan). The floors of the castle were "Nightingale" floors which are designed to make a squeaky sound when walked on so that nobody can sneak into the castle undetected. There were also concealed chambers, which we didn't get to see, where bodyguards could keep watch. In some rooms of the castle they had life-like mannequins depicting who would be present in the room during certain events and it also showed where they would be seated relative to the shogun. That was probably the neatest part. There was also some artwork on the walls, which in my opinion were nothing special. 

After this, we were both pretty hungry and kind of tired of sightseeing, but we trudged along to the next site which was Daitoko-ji which was ranked high in our Lonely Planet book for rewarding sites to see. Jeff mentioned that yesterday we tried getting here before it closed but we were too late. Today however, we made our way there and arrived on time. We lucked out and found a bakery that was open so that we could buy some lunch. Most places seem to be closed on Sundays. Once we bought our lunch, we headed inside the grounds to find a nice spot to sit to eat lunch. One of the other criticisms we have of Japan, is that there is almost no public seating areas anywhere. There are also very few garbages around, which is mind boggling because the place is so spic and span. So we found some steps outside a shrine and munched away.

After lunch, neither of us said it, but we didn't really want to be there. Daitoku-ji is huge. It's like another world inside Kyoto. It's a collection of zen temples, gardens and lanes. There are 24 temples and sub-temples of which many require you to pay admission fees to enter. So, we kind of wandered through the place half-heartedly trying to find some of the highlights a nice old stranger had recommended to us. We found one, but when we saw the price of 500Yen we turned around, blew the popsicle stand and headed for the Toji Temple where the Kobo-san market-fair takes place on the 21st of every month. We managed to catch the last hour of the market to look around at some of the antiques and street food, and clothing on sale. It was the funnest part of my day. Jeff wasn't so interested, but I have been dead set on bringing back some little plates to put soya sauce in for sushi. Well everytime I find one I like it's like 2000Yen for just one! The market was no different so I think we're going to settle for some chop sticks from Japan as some souvenirs.

Not so much Jeff, but I have also been determined to find and eat the best sushi of my life before I leave, and finally we succeeded at dinner. We found this place the book recommended and although it was pricier than we liked, it was very very much worth it. In fact, it was the best sushi I have ever had. Look at the presentation!

Tomorrow we're headed for Nara in the morning. It's pretty much a hop, jump and a skip away so we should be there before lunch. Again, I think we're both happy to be moving on. Kyoto was exhausting.

Hope all is well back at home.

Good night.