Rubin Trek: Kyoto, Nara and back to Tokyo

After Adam and Dana went to Hiroshima, we took the train from Tokyo and met up with them in Kyoto. We had a wonderful 3 days exploring Kyoto and Nara. (Don't worry! We're going to Hiroshima later in the week and will give a full report!)

First day: We took a 1-hour bus trip to Jingoji Temple which Miles had visited in 1996. It was well worth the trip. We were nearly all by ourselves, walking in the forest, wandering from building to building...I am getting repetitive if I say it doesn't get much better than this. So serene and pretty.

Jingoji-Temple

A special custom of this temple is to buy 2 clay disks, make a wish and then fling them into the valley below. I hope the clay's organic--littering is a big no-no in Japan.

Preparing to fling our disks into the valley

We then returned to town and went to Nijo Castle. Unfortunately, they don't allow pictures inside, but it's a spacious Japanese castle and you can wander room to room--very minimalist with tatami mats in every room. There were nightengale floors: these are special floors that "squeak" when you walk in order to warn of intruders (I don't know how they differentiate from intruders and teenagers coming home late at night. Oh well, no secrets in the castle.)

The outside of Nijo Castle

Next day, Nara, about an hour ride away from Kyoto. This was the first capital of Japan, now a tourist destination because it has many UNESCO world heritage sites.

The most impressive thing I saw was the giant Budda in the Todai-ji Temple. Not only is the Budda REALLY big (14.98 meters/48.91 ft. tall--the head is 5.41 meters/17.75 feet --the ear is 2.54 meters/8.33 feet--you get the idea). It's housed in what is possibly the largest wooden building in the world. Just enormous. Amazing.

Todai-Ji Temple

Big Budda

We are dwarfed by the Budda

Another "symbol" of Nara are the many deer that wander around. There were dozens, but we only got a shot at one:

Bambi look-a-like in Nara

Next day, we ventured in the Gion District which is known for geishas. We were there in the day time and there weren't any geisha-sitings. Darn. The best we could do was photograph them from a video at the Gion Corner auditorium:

Geisha

and more geishas...

And here's Dana and me enjoying a Kyoto treat (Japanese wrap): 2 rice crackers with a squashed potato and sauce mixture inside. Quite good!

It tasted better than it sounds!

Back to Kyoto, we didn't want to deprive you of yet another picture of Tejin Shrine:

Here we are ringin' and wishin'...

Adam and Dana left on Oct. 2 (boo-hoo), but we had a terrific time together.

Now it's just us. We've reached our half-way point in the Japan section of our sabbatical. One month to go!

Today we went to the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park. This is a complex of 4 museums dedicated to Asian art and it was just wonderful. Here are a few samples of what we saw: