Today we visited two more UNESCO World Heritage sites starting with Kinkaku-ji Temple to the north of Kyoto. Better known as “The Golden Pavilion”, this Buddhist temple’s main attraction is the 3-story pagoda in the middle of a small lake. The top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf and it shone brightly for us on this beautiful sunny day. We strolled through the peaceful and serene zen gardens while birds twittered in the bonsai trees all around. Of course we purchased souvenirs at the gift shop.
Next we visited Nijo Castle. It was built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo Period (1603-1868). Photos are not allowed inside so I added some pics from the website to show the beautiful interior. It is a sprawling complex decorated with sliding screen paintings by the Kano school, the greatest school in the history of Japanese painting, as well as colorful transom carvings and decorative metal fittings. It is a gorgeous architectural masterpiece befitting a shogun’s palace.
On our own for a free afternoon, we found lunch at a small family-run cafe complete with interior gardens and ishi-dōrō or stone lanterns. The hostess welcomed us and told us this building was the former residence of her grandmother and that her mother was born here. The hostess and her husband had opened the cafe one year ago and gave us cookie souvenirs to commemorate the anniversary. The almond toast and chai ice cream were excellent.
After lunch, we visited the Samurai-Ninja museum to learn about the history of Japan and the roles of the Samurai (warriors) and ninja (spies/assassins). An excellent guided tour ended with a shuriken (ninja throwing star) contest. Ryan did not win but came close. The entire experience was not only educational but great fun too. Ryan was in his glory.
Supper was at a restaurant near our hotel… an oishī (delicious) assortment of snack food plates washed down with beer.
In the evening, our guide, Shizuka, reserved tickets for our entire group to see a 50-minute show at the Gion Corner Theater in the Geisha district. What a show! We saw seven short performances, each 5-10 minutes some of which are classified as World Heritage Intangible practices. Chanoyu (Geisha Tea Ceremony), Ikebana (flower arrangement), Koto music (14 stringed wooden zither plucked with finger tips), Bugaku dance (performed by Maiko… Geisha apprentices), Kyogen comedy, Bunraken puppet theater and Noh play (Japanese dance and song performed by masked actors). Photos are not allowed so, once again, I have included shots from the program brochure.
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