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Gareth & Nicola's Adventures
Kyoto was once the capital of Japan and its full of ancient shrines, temples, palaces and history filled lanes - a world away from the modern metropolis that is Tokyo. Plus its also a hotspot for Geishas and we even spotted a real live Maiko (an apprentice Geisha) walking down the street.
The Buddhist temples and shrines in Kyoto are amazing but with about 2,000 of them in all we had to be very selective in which we chose to visit. Although it sounds like a lot of shrines they were all so different that each on felt different to the last with Zen garden, beautiful wooded areas with gorgeous bamboo and maple forests and huge armies of multi armed golden statues guarding gigantic Buddhas.
Some of the high points were the Golden Pagoda of Kinkakuji reflected perfectly in the pond just in front of the shrine, the atmosphere and scenery of Kiyomizu-dera perched on a hill overlooking Kyoto with hills and forests all around and most of all the amazing serenity and scenery of the awe inspiring Fishimi Inari Shrine outside Kyoto with torii lined walks all around the shrine. We were lucky enough to witness the monks performing a ceremony in Fushimi Inari and also the lady monks singing and performing a fan dance.
In addition to all the shrines and temples we also visited Nijo Castle, the home of the Shoguns in Kyoto with beautiful screen paintings throughout and nightingale floors which literally sing out when you walk on them to ensure that no one could creep up on the shogun unawares!
Gion and Ponto Cho feel like stepping into the set of Memoirs of a Geisha in Kyoto with tiny laneways filled with tiny restaurants, tea rooms and bars lining each side and lots of ladies (and men) dressed in traditional kimonos parading around. Of course I had to join in the fun and when we visited a local market I tried on (and bought you know me!) a kimono much to the entertainment of the locals who laughed and took photos of me dressed up!
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