Kyoto day 3

It started off as a gloomy morning, with grey skies and light rain. But that didn't deter us from heading out early to maximize our day. We started off with Nijo-jo which was about 20 minutes walk from our hotel.

Nijo-jo entrance

Just after the main gates of Nijo-jo, there's a 'tent' where 'language guides' camp. For a moment, it felt like people were coming up to us to sell us stuffs like how it's sometimes like in a tourist area. Took me a while to realize that they were volunteering their language skills. Hehehe. So we got ourselves an English guide, but as they don't start for 30 minutes we were told to take a walk in the castle, specifically to a garden which apparently was very beautiful with the blooming flowers.

Inner moat of Honmaru Palace (which was unfortunately close when we were there)

The Plum-tree Grove

We went a little trigger happy here with our cameras. The sight of the blooming flowers was so breathtaking that it'll be a crime not to go crazy with the camera! We didn't really have that much time to spend between then and the guided tour, so we only hung around in the area intead, taking in the beauty.

One of the many pretty trees

White plum blossoms

Pink plum blossoms

Blooming white blossoms

One with the trees

Finally, after I forgot how many shots and sniffing at the flowers, I dragged my feet reluctantly leaving the grove. Our guide was an elderly lady who speaks fairly average English but with a very heavy Japanese accent which made it a little hard to understand. Had to really concentrate to understand what she's saying, but she was really nice. So that compensated for it :). It's a nice gesture anyway for them to do these free guided tours for tourist.

Ninomaru Palace

Made UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994, Nijo-jo was originally built in 1603 as the official Kyoto Residence of Shogun Ieyase Tokugawa. The castle displays characteristics from the Edo Period and the Momoyama culture which is recognized from it's building's architectures, paintings and cravings. The castle became a property of the Imperial family in 1867 when Yoshinobu, the fifteenth Tokugawa Shogun returned sovereignty to the Emporer - which took place in Nijo-jo itself. The castle renamed Nijo Detached Palace in 184 before it was donated to City of Kyoto and renamed Nijo-jo in 1939.

At Ninomaru Palace entrance

No pictures were allowed in the castle, which was a waste as there were quite a few pretty paintings on the walls. The floors in the castle were pretty unique - they were called the nightingale floors. Built in the way that allows floor nails to rub against jackets/clamps to produce creaking sounds under pressure, it acts to prevent any uninvited guest to eavesdrop at any time. A pretty cool architecture briliance! *and it still works*

The castle itself is made up of quite a few rooms, but mainly has 5 or 6 parts. The guided tour will take you to most of the place. One tip is to take up their slippers even if they are too big as the castle is absolutely freezing cold and the floor was even colder and my feet were struggling as I only had my socks on. I was literally brisk walking to carpeted areas so that I can spare my feet from the cold wooden floors!

Ninomaru Garden

The garden is located to the back of the castle, with a large pond that had 3 islands - 1 large and 2 smaller ones. The larger island is called the Horai-jima - Island of Eternal Happiness), the smaller 2 : Tsuru-jima (Crane Island) and Kame-jima (Turtle Island). On the left to the pond, there was some sort of tree that was being protected from the weather ( far right in the picture above just in front of the building) with hays (or something). I initially thought it was some sort of garden design that was quite pretty. But apparently, someone/country donated hundreds of that particular species of trees, but all of them died with the harsh weather and so, only those handful were left - hence they get very special treatments.

By the time we left Nijo-jo, it started snowing lightly which was kind of nice in a way, but it also meant that the we were going to be wet and cold. Nevertheless, we marched (or rather, took the bus) to the next spot : Toji Temple.

The famous pagoda in Toji (the highest wooden tower in Japan)

By the time we arrived in Toji, the rain/snow, whatever you call it, had gotten heavier and we were getting quite drenched to be honest. So we rushed from a sheltered place to another, trying to take pictures in between. The entrance fees to Toji Temple was actually quite steep compared to the other temples, and because it was raining quite heavily meaning we weren't going to spend much time there so we didn't get tickets to enter. Instead we went around the temple grounds, which was relatively big as well. And because all we did was run around, I have no idea what is what in some of my pictures :( .

Jikido of Toji Temple, I think

Established in 796 AD, Toji Temple was initially built as a guardian temple for the city of Kyoto. The Pagoda was last rebuilt in 1643 after being burnt by fires 5 times in the past.

Compounds of Toji Temple.

Look ma, I found more flowers!! :P

By the end of Toji Temple, we've had enough of the bad weather and decided to hop on a bus and ended up at Kyoto Station for lunch. We had a pretty good lunch when we first arrived in Kyoto the first time, so we were going to try our luck in the station again and we weren't disappointed. My hot soba and prawn with egg was absolutely delicious! Maybe it was partly due to the cold weather.. who could resist a hot meal!?! I know I couldn't!

Lunch.. yummsss!

Right after lunch, we decided to give the weather another chance so we walked back to the bus stop from the underground pass, but as it was still raining heavily and windy, we decided that we should just hang out in the train station. As uncool as it may sound to hang out in a train station, Kyoto Station is something totally different.

Kyoto station

Not your any average train station, this futuristic looking station was completed in 1998 but still looks really new and well cared for, and is the second largest station in Japan. It has a shopping centre, restaurants, theatres and hotel. It even had a walkway called the Skywalk on the 11th floor. Accessible from the food court called The Cube, it offers the view of Kyoto to a certain extend. Me, I was more impressed with the design.

Skywalk

Part of the Skywalk design

Our companion while looking for Skywalk

Now, let's go back to The Cube. Before heading off to the Skywalk, as we got lost in the process, we stumbled across The Cube, which is the food court. It had either 2 or 3 levels (my memory failing me now), but the upper level(s) had the more expensive diners. The lower of them all had cheaper food and that was where we got a sidetracked from looking for the walkway. We have yet to have a proper decent takoyaki since we got there, which by the way is one of my favourite Japanese snack food. (The last time we had takoyaki in Japan was when we were walking in Kyoto on the night before. That takoyaki had no mayonaise I think, *sigh*). So when the other guys saw a place selling them, I was more than happy to put a hold to my Skywalk hunting process.

Man making takoyaki :)

Takoyaki!!! :D

Yungwi had some okonomiyaki

From there, we then decided to part ways, with the two of us leaving to Tokyo whereas the other two will continue on in Kyoto and Hokkaido.

One in the subway station just because I can :