Kyoto

Japan feels like such a long time ago... I guess that's one reason to update a blog regularly. Bear with me as I cast my mind back through the mists of time (and beer)...

I didn't take many photos in Kyoto, as my brain was fried from the heat and my camera lens was scratched. One of my favorite things about Kyoto - well, all of Japan, really - was how people deal with the summer sun. They have these fingerless, arm-length gloves to protect their skin from the sun (of which i bought 3 pairs!) and use umbrellas for shade. I've seen people doing that in Sydney from time to time, but I always felt a bit silly doing it myself, for some stupid reason. Not any more - it was a revelation! Now I proudly hide from the sun under my umbrella and I'm never without it.

Are you tired of hearing about the heat yet?

Anyway, I did get out of the hotel and see Nijo Castle. You can't take any pictures inside, which is a shame, because the paintings were stunning. Most of what I saw was natural landscapes, animals, trees - very few human figures at all (actually none, now that I think about it). And so delicate! So very different from what we'll see in Amsterdam and Copenhagen! My favorite thing about this castle, though, was the nightingale floor. It was designed to chirp like a bird when walked on, so that it was impossible to move around without alerting the guards. With all the tourists trooping through, it sounded like a giant flock of birds!

Nijo Castle

 I also visited the Heian Jingu Shrine. It's not as ancient as many shrines in Kyoto, but it was close to one of the museums I was visiting (which also didn't allow pictures!), so I thought I'd pop in. The buildings were very orange, and the white gravel courtyard was blinding. I can still see it when I close my eyes.:)

I don't know why I can't center the things I'm photographing. Everything seems to skew left, for some reason...

Anyway, the shrine had a beautiful shaded garden, which was a welcome respite from the sun! I was wandering around and then, from nowhere, there's a tram car...

Many of the trees in the gardens we visited are propped up on big poles, which allows the branches to spread much farther from the trunk than they otherwise could. It looked odd to me at first, but it grew on me.:)

There was also a lovely lake - I sat on that bridge for long time, and fed the turtles. There were some monsters in there! I should have taken some pics of those... oh, well...

One of the most interesting things we did was go to a Japanese beer garden. In the summer, some of the big department stores downtown open these up on the roof - you pay a cover charge (about $25) and you can eat and drink all you want. It was the only food in Japan I didn't like - turns out nobody does food in a trough very well - and we got there too late to get through much beer (I thought it would be open later). Still, though, it was definitely one of the more memorable evenings of our trip.

Mark and I are in the midst of an around-the-world cribbage slap down, and we were pretty excited to find a Studio Ghibli deck of cards in a convenience store. They're still the reigning favorites for the tournament (we've now managed to collect about 5 decks!).

Red, shiny face - always a good look!

I think the beer garden sticks in my mind because it was one place I went that wasn't covered up with tourists. Mark and I were probably the only non-locals there, I think, and it was fun seeing people in a more normal, everyday setting.

We also visited the Nishiki Markets, where Mark went hog-wild trying everything that wasn't nailed down. What's that squirmy thing on a stick? I think I'll have some, thanks! What are those squishy things in that barrel? Bring it on!

I stuck with soba noodles, which I love.

There's not much food in this shot, I'm realising, and Mark's not eating anything too... well, anything at all.

And here's Mark waiting for me to come out of a shop...

I know I haven't done Kyoto justice. It has to be one of my favourite places, and I can't wait to go back and see more of this amazing city!

Next up, Tokyo!