Japan
April 2017
Kyoto
Philosopher’s path
Ginkaku-ji - smaller, garden pathways
Honen-in - smaller, green, pretty
Eikando Zenrin-ji - larger covered, explored inside, encountered monks, sipped tea, admired the gutter system (active in the rain)
Nanzen-ji - huge, zen gardens, saw many young ladies dressed in kimonos
Heian Jingu Shrine - best cherry blossoms we found thus far, beautiful, fully blossomed flowers, quite crowded
Golden Pavilion / Kinkaku-Ji Temple - like an amusement park, one way path ushered through to take pictures, crowded. Spotted a large crane on an island in the pond
Arashiyama
Iwatayama Monkey Park - all the monkeys are at the top, since that’s where humans can buy food to feed them, had an amusing time watching some dramatic scenes
Continued to bike around
Tenryu-ji Temple - great zen and green gardens
Bamboo groves, forest pathways, a beautiful cherry tree in full blossom
Daikaku-ji Temple - allowed photography of the wall art
Nara
Went on a free tour provided by English Goodwill Guides. Don’t worry, you will see deer, they’re everywhere.
Kōfuku-ji Temple - explained parts of the pagoda and red bibs around the stone carvings
Tōdai-ji - giant Buddha (not much else)
Kasuga - taisha Shrine - our guide advised us to skip the inside of this one, but we still explored the outer grounds with many stone lanterns
Old Nara - calligraphy, old wealthy merchant house
Our guide gifted us with an origami turtle and crane and she laughed when I asked if everyone knew how to fold a crane, saying they all learn in kindergarten.
Takayama
Train along Kiso River (Japanese Rhine) to SNOW, well Hirayu-no-mori
Relaxed in the gender separated onsens and resting room for the better part of the day before eating lots of unknown foods for dinner
Bathed in a private onsen post-dinner, large circular wooden tub split between indoor and outdoor sections and retired on traditional Japanese futons in our ryokan.
Visited Matsumoto Castle - big, square with steep steps, and firearms for war, then moon viewing room built after.
Tokyo
Ghibli Museum - amazing, such great attention to detail to find hidden characters throughout. Loved the rooftop robot, cat bus, animated short, and the 3D zoetrope of Totoro characters. I obviously went to town on the gift shop as well.
Japanese Homestyle Cooking class - cucumber and kitsune for salad, eggplant and peppers for miso dish, udon for soup, tofu teriyaki, plentiful toppings
Ueno Park - loved the street performers, acrobatic hoops, yo-yo, rolla bolla, football jugglers, etc! We skipped our intended visit to Tokyo museum to watch these performers instead
Akihabara - as you’d expect, omg, so many amazing games with all sorts of controls
Yoyogi Park - stumbled upon Earth Day festival, so a giant (feminine) pad dancing around.
Imperial Palace - read on the lawn of the gardens
Harajuku - shopping! for all the fun “alternative” things you can find
