[post of
Tuesday 11th of September 2012]
Today is a
day for tourism, which is not the same as a day off cycling. There are so many
things to see here in Kyoto than we have to be firm and avoid taking it easy in
order to see the whole old city. We study the route careful, then we accept the
fact that it’s gonna be impossible to see everything, so we decide to get to
see at least the most important things Kyoto has to offer, and to take these
easy. First of all, we wake up early, have breakfast, and then we get out to
see the temples area that is nearby the central station. When I get more time
to talk about this in detail, I’ll tell you exactly which temples we visited
and add their names to the pictures I’m uploading now.
After the
temples, we go to the Nijo Castle, of which we don’t have photos because it is
forbidden to take them inside the castle. In any case, if you ever go to Kyoto,
it’s definitely worthwhile to visit this castle. The main reason for that is
that Nijo Castle has not been re-built after WWII, so you can see the original
paintings on its walls, which pertain mainly to the Kano school. Another reason
to visit this castle is that it was built up as one of the official residences
for Ieyasu Tokugawa, who used it as something like a castle for times of peace.
In the
afternoon, we climb the hills on the Western side of Kyoto to visit the
well-known Zen sanctuaries of this city, but the rain stop us from enjoying in
full the beauty of their gardens. Among the sanctuary we visit, there is also
the Golden House, one of the symbols of Japanese tourism worldwide.
Going back
to the hotel, we stop by the Imperial Palace, which is surrounded by a massive
garden in a square shape. Finally, we walk through Kyoto alongside a
North-South imaginary line, greeted by the twilight as we get ‘home’… and for
today we’re done. The best thing now it’s to see all the pictures we took.
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