Kyoto--day 1

The next morning, I woke up and headed off to Nijo-jo. I walked around the grounds, looking at the displays in Ninomaru and Honmaru Palaces and the beautiful gardens that made up the compound. I couldn't take photos of the inside of the palaces, but they have some beautiful, incredibly well-preserved, famous paintings on the walls of nature and animals. One of the rooms (I think it was the visitors room) has "nightingale floors" which squeak when they're stepped on, warning of visitors.

From there, I went on to the Kyoto Imperial Palace where the royal family used to live when Kyoto was the capital of Japan. The Imperial Palace that we visited was not the original one -- apparently, the Royal Family used to stay with courtiers occasionally (like when the Palace burned down, which it seemed to do a lot) and finally ended up moving permanently into one of these homes, which then became the Palace (and burned down a few times itself). The sprawling grounds, with several gates leading in, had huge parks, several smaller, less well-known palaces, and a few ruins.




I made a quick stop at Shokoku-ji Temple, which was very quiet and peaceful after the bustle of the Imperial Palace.





I went back to the hotel, took a short nap, and then headed out to Gion, hoping to see Geisha on the way to their appointments. Unfortunately, I think I was too late (naps must sometimes take precedence over other things!) But I did walk around the area, particulary on a street called Hanami-koji, which was lined with quaint little traditional tea-houses, and, in significance of the changing times, a steak house!