Day 2 in Kyoto

We started this morning at the Nijo Castle.  Well, just as the silver pavilion wasn’t silver, I must say that the Nijo Castle didn’t seem much like a castle.  It is stately and impressive, but more like a convention center than a castle …. a series of large meeting rooms.  My favorite thing was the floor, which was deliberately built to squeak when walked on, so that you knew if someone was coming.  (Hah – that’s just probably the contractor’s excuse, don’t you think?).

The surrounding gardens, though are beautiful.

We continue to see a bazillion school kids.  Many of them stop and ask us if we would pose for a photo with them, and we did this on several occasions.  Jenny got into the spirit making the “peace” sign.  For some reason, all Japanese people do this for all photos.  Then, the guide explained that often their instructors will assign them the task of getting a photo with a gaijin (foreigner).  I’m hoping this is to force them to practice English, rather than as a trophy!

We then visited the Gold Pavilion, which thankfully is actually gold.  The twist with this place was that the original burned down, so the one we are seeing is a replica, actually constructed in 1955.  Speaking as someone born that year, it didn’t strike me as very old!  But it was quite beautiful and the gardens and ponds around it were spectacular.

We strolled through a flea market on the way to a set of temples.  The flea market was filled with interesting street food as well as plenty of trinkets.  We made a stop at a statue that is supposed to be good luck for students taking exams, so both Marina and Jenny gave it a good rub, hoping that the effect would last a while.

Our next stop was a bamboo forest outside of town.  First, we stopped for lunch at a place specializing in tofu.  Actually, it seemed they were specialized in buckwheat, as many of the items were made from buckwheat (for those readers who are familiar with kasha, it was like a whole kasha-tasting meal, even the tea and the ice cream).  The tofu was good, too.  Then we strolled through the bamboo, which was amazingly cool on a very hot day.  The bamboo grows very fast and are used in many items here.

We took the streetcar back to town and are relaxing at the hotel. Highlight of the day:  green tea ice cream!

Both Marina and Jenny are really enjoying Japan.  I think Marina likes it because everything is small, so it fits her perfectly!  Jenny is working on picking up a variety of phrases in Japanese and talks to everybody, so she is a particularly popular subject for those gaijin photos.

My mom is doing a bit better today, but we’ve decided to come home early, so are trying to figure out our logistics.

-- Donna