Kyoto

Our big adventure during Mom and Suzannes visit was a trip to Kyoto.  Kyoto is not exactly close to Tokyo, some 3 hrs away via bullet train, or shinkansen as it is referred to here.  We have often heard it is THE place to visit while here in Japan, so we purposely waited until company came to go.

Kyoto served as Japans capital and the emperors residence from 794 until 1868.  Over the centuries, Kyoto was destroyed by many wars and fires,  but due to its historic value, the city was dropped from the list of target cities for the atomic bomb and spared from air raids during World War II.  Countless temples, shrines and historically priceless structures abound here today.  I am rather 'shrined out' but one of our favorite puzzles we did together as a family was photographed here and again added to the draw.

                                                            Tourist boats ready to go

                                                         A Buddhist monk cemetery

                                                                Bamboo grove

                                                               

                                                                Shady but we are there!

                                           Easily one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.
                                                      The Golden Pavillion was breathtaking.
                                             Oh and by the way, this building is covered in real gold!

                                                 The pictures cannot do it justice

The next day brought lots of rain but we headed out to see the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine anyway.  This is a shinto shrine dedicated to Inari, the shinto god of rice.  Foxes are thought to be Inaris messengers, resulting in many fox statues throughout the grounds.  This shrine predates the capitals move to Kyoto in 794, so is VERY old.  There are apparently over 5000 torii gate here up the side of the mountain.  And after visiting, I don't find that number hard to believe at all.  The torii gates are purchased by businesses for good fortune.  A small torii gate runs around 4000$ and the larger ones over 10000$.

                                                                   The entry

Notice the foxes

We headed home later in the day....shinkansen or bullet train, classic Japan.