#Ryōan-Ji

We mostly already knew today’s programme from our first trip to Japan, but I guess that’s just how it goes with group tours. We did the obligatory tourist stuff for a visit to Kyōto and saw the Kinkaku-ji, the Ryōan-ji with its famous stone garden and Nijō Castle.

The Sanjūsangen-dō was new to us, though. Here, 1001 life-sized Buddha statues from the 12th and 13th centuries stand on a tiered platform in a long hall. An impressive sight. Unfortunately, taking photos in the hall was strictly forbidden.

Since we had a bit of free time left in the evening, we headed over to the Fushimi Inari with the group again, which actually wasn’t on the programme at all. As they say, two is better than one.

We checked out the old Imperial Palace from back when Kyoto was still the capital of Japan. We made it inside the building just in time before a heavy thunderstorm. There was no artificial light inside, so it was pretty dark. Taking photos wouldn’t have been allowed anyway, though. A shame, because the old wall paintings are worth seeing. The wooden floor is pretty cool too – it squeaks when you walk on it to give away intruders.

With slightly better weather, we then checked out the Hojo-Teien, one of the most famous rock gardens in Japan. It’s on the grounds of the Ryōanji, which has a landscape garden that’s really worth a look.

Next stop was the Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion.

We had the afternoon off, so we had a look around Kyoto. The Higashi honganji temple is right in the middle of town. An outbuilding is currently being restored, but we managed to get a look inside. After that, we popped over to the main railway station. A massive building where escalators seem to go right up into the sky.

South of the station, there are even more temples and shrines. We had a quick look at the Kōshōji, but our aching feet put an early end to the evening.