Thank heavens we bought rain ponchos at Universal Studios yesterday!!
The only rainy day we had in Japan was spent in Kyoto. Kyoto was Japan's capital and the emperor's residence from 794 until 1868. Our first stop on our tour was to Nijo Castle. This castle was the residence of the Tokugawa Shogun built in 1603. We especially liked the floors inside the castle. Whenever anyone walked on the floors it would sound like birds chirping. This was an alarm to tell the officials someone was coming.
The grounds outside the castle were beautifully landscaped.
Our next stop, Kinkakuji Temple or the Golden Pavillion is the most popular temple in Japan. The Japanese believe this temple has the most authentic and exquisite Japanese Garden.
When we arrived at the Kyoto Imperial Palace it was a lot different than we had imagined it to be. It clearly shows the Japanese taste for simplicity. This was the residence of the Imperial family until the captial was relocated to tokyo in 1868.
The boys pose in front of the Imperial Palace Gardens.
After Kyoto, we traveled one hour by motorcoach to Nara. Nara was the country's first permanent captial city, and has a lot of Unesco World Heritage sites, including some of Japan's oldest Buddhist temples. The Todaiji Temple was our first stop in Nara. It is one of Japan's most famous and historically significant temples. Inside is a gigantic statue of Buddha (the largest in the world.)
Immediately after exiting the temple you are greeted by deer roaming freely. The tour guide warned us the deer will expect to be fed. We were happy to do this, and even bought them several biscuits for treats. However, when the biscuits were devoured they started eating our rain coats (very treasured that rainy day!)
Kasuga Shrine was our last stop for our Kyoto/Nara tour. This shrine has more than 3,000 antique stone and bronze lanterns. The lanterns are given by the people as a religious offering. Twice a year for holidays they light every single lantern.
After a very long, wet, day we enjoyed another authentic Japanese "shabu-shabu" meal. Shabu Shabu is thin beef, pork, vegetables, or noodles quickly swirled through a tasty broth until cooked throughly (hopefully!)
The only rainy day we had in Japan was spent in Kyoto. Kyoto was Japan's capital and the emperor's residence from 794 until 1868. Our first stop on our tour was to Nijo Castle. This castle was the residence of the Tokugawa Shogun built in 1603. We especially liked the floors inside the castle. Whenever anyone walked on the floors it would sound like birds chirping. This was an alarm to tell the officials someone was coming.
The grounds outside the castle were beautifully landscaped.
Our next stop, Kinkakuji Temple or the Golden Pavillion is the most popular temple in Japan. The Japanese believe this temple has the most authentic and exquisite Japanese Garden.
When we arrived at the Kyoto Imperial Palace it was a lot different than we had imagined it to be. It clearly shows the Japanese taste for simplicity. This was the residence of the Imperial family until the captial was relocated to tokyo in 1868.
The boys pose in front of the Imperial Palace Gardens.
After Kyoto, we traveled one hour by motorcoach to Nara. Nara was the country's first permanent captial city, and has a lot of Unesco World Heritage sites, including some of Japan's oldest Buddhist temples. The Todaiji Temple was our first stop in Nara. It is one of Japan's most famous and historically significant temples. Inside is a gigantic statue of Buddha (the largest in the world.)
Immediately after exiting the temple you are greeted by deer roaming freely. The tour guide warned us the deer will expect to be fed. We were happy to do this, and even bought them several biscuits for treats. However, when the biscuits were devoured they started eating our rain coats (very treasured that rainy day!)
Kasuga Shrine was our last stop for our Kyoto/Nara tour. This shrine has more than 3,000 antique stone and bronze lanterns. The lanterns are given by the people as a religious offering. Twice a year for holidays they light every single lantern.
After a very long, wet, day we enjoyed another authentic Japanese "shabu-shabu" meal. Shabu Shabu is thin beef, pork, vegetables, or noodles quickly swirled through a tasty broth until cooked throughly (hopefully!)
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