We started our day this morning sitting down with the concierge and booking tickets for Miyako Odori (Cherry Blossom Dance) at the Gion Kaburenjo Theater for tomorrow at 3:30. The show begins with a formal tea ceremony followed by a geisha performance. We were so lucky to get these tickets, as the show only runs for the month of April and a few times in May and October. It just so happens we are here at the right time to see it! Yay!
After booking the show and getting a tutorial on Kyoto's bus system, we walked directly across the street from out hotel to Nijo Castle. This is the Castle that we have had a direct view of from our room. (Nothing makes you feel like you're really in Japan quite like waking up to a 400 year old castle gate right out your window.) We joined the hundreds of uniformed school kids in touring the castle and the grounds. It was built in 1603 by the man who founded the shogunate. The interior of this castle is known for its opulence and has a number of interesting features including the craziest sounding squeaking "nightingale" floors to protect from the threat of sneak attacks. The floors sound so neat; it's not your average squeak when hundreds of people are touring at once! (Of course, D had to get underneath the structure once outside to examine the structural aspect of the squeak. Such an adorable dork.)
At Nijo we were again approached by a group of kids who asked if they could have their picture taken with us. It is such an interesting phenomenon. I mean, these kids are flat-out excited to have their picture taken with a couple of scrubby backpack-toting Americans. Hilarious. Afterwards they all shook our hands, bowed, and thanked us profusely as though we had actually done something for them. Just bizarre. And adorable.
After the castle, we hopped on a bus to Kiyomizu-dera, a temple sitting at the top of a steep hill. We climbed up the steep cobble stone street with hundreds upon hundreds of other people, just as people have been doing for centuries. This is a more famous temple that is among the most visited. The street up to the temple was absolutely packed with people (especially considering it was early afternoon on a Monday) and absolutely packed with craft galleries, confection makers and souvenir shops. And I mean PACKED. We stopped at a tiny little pottery studio where D bought a few little ceramic Buddhas modeled after the stone ones we have seen at so many shrines.
We finally made it through the crowds to sneak a peak. The temple and grounds are fantastic. The temple just sort of juts out over the lush green valley hundreds of feet below. I think they said 130-some huge pillars support the structure. It is a sight to behold; especially with people crawling all over every inch of it.
After snapping a hundred pictures or so (tee hee) we took the pathway through a forested area back down to our starting point. On our way, we stopped at a tea house with outdoor tatami-matted "rooms" overlooking a wooded valley where they served matcha and bean paste and rice confections. Such a neat experience.
Next we hopped on a bus to Heian Jingu, one of Kyoto's newest shrines. It was built in 1894 to celebrate the 1100th anniversary of Kyoto's founding. It is amazing how many historically significant things there are to see here within minutes of each other. The entire city is a living history book.
We headed back to our hotel at around 6:30 and decided to hit the town in search of dinner. In the world of travel, food is rumored to be very expensive here, but D and I have had great luck finding inexpensive options. Tonight we went to a REALLY local noodle joint--no one spoke a word of English. We did our pointing at the menu routine and guessed really well--our food was great and the total was a whopping 800 yen, or about $8. For both of us. If you're not afraid to venture away from the more "westernized" areas, it is possible to eat really well for pretty cheap. (And it's totally fun playing charades.)
Tomorrow we have a jam-packed day including the MOSS TEMPLE (whoooo hoooo) that I've been talking about for months now and the geisha show. And D just informed me that he thinks we can squeeze in a monkey park. Does that sound like a heavenly day or what?
A few pictures from Monday: D checking out the squeaking floor inner workings at Nijo Castle... Green tea ice cream for breakfast... Crowded street leading up to Kiyomizu-dera... More crowds (mostly school kids)... Cleansing ritual observed by kids at the temple... Still more crowds... Shrine at Kiyomizu-dera... Now those are some nice lookin' roofs... 3-story pagoda top... Me and my matcha and bean paste treat... D found some turtles out sunning themselves... Turtleneck... Motorcycle postman... HUGE Torii outside Heian Jingu... Kids at Heian Jingu... Make a wish... D and wish trees at Heian Jingu.
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