Overseas Adventure Travel
Japan’s Cultural Treasures
April 17 through May 2, 2023
Click on the above link buttons that will take you directly to a particular page or area of the review; or you can just click through to the next page at the bottom of each page.
Page 1 - Tokyo and Hakone Day 1
Page 2 - Hakone Day 2 and Kanazawa Days 1 & 2
Page 3 - Kanazawa Day 3 and Kyoto Day Day 1
Page 4 - Kyoto Days 2 & 3
Page 5 - Kyoto Days 4 & 5
Kyoto, Japan – Day 2
It would be a great touring day since the weather once again was stellar with sunshine and temperatures in the low 70’s. Plus, we would visit one of my favorite sites in Kyoto that I visited in 2015. We boarded the bus for our first destination in the Arashiyama district. On the way we passed by some beautiful traditional Japanese buildings.
Our first tour of the day would be at a bamboo grove. We were going there earlier in the day, since Katy said that it would be less crowded. We got off the bus and walked along the river. We saw a long bridge that we would cross over a few days later for a different tour.
Our first stop was for a restroom break in a train station. The old style purple train car was different.
We then walked toward the entrance to the bamboo grove. There were some cute little statues on the way, as well as a beautiful Buddha monument in a cemetery.
We also saw a couple who were getting married on their way to the grove. It is a very popular photo opp place.
The grove was quite a place. There were so many bamboo stalks reaching toward the sky. We didn’t have to walk very far into the grove, since it pretty much looked the same throughout with large bamboo stalks lining the trail. We still had to explore some.
It was a very popular place and there were lots of people on the trail. We ran into the couple in wedding attire again trying to take photos when there weren’t many people in the shot. They had to wait quite a while to get one.
After leaving the bamboo grove, we went to the Tenryu-Ji Zen Temple. The grounds were so beautiful.
The temple itself was a large building, but the gardens around it were the main attraction for us.
They also had a large sand garden.
As we walked back toward the bus, we saw that the town was now packed with people. Katy was right about getting started early.
We got back on the bus and headed to the place that I was so anxious for Cathy to see, the Golden Pavilion. It was about a half hour's drive. The entrance and other buildings on the Buddhist temple complex were a pleasure to see, but we didn’t spend much time looking at them, since we were looking forward to the main attraction.
A few minutes down the path and we reached the pond with the pavilion shining at us from across the water. It is a beautiful sight.
Katy took everyone’s photo in front of the pavilion. We along with others were also taking selfies to get different angles.
I took many photos as we walked around the lake to show different sides of the pavilion, as well as close ups, especially of the gold phoenix on the top.
After we were finished looking at the pavilion, we walked back toward the bus taking in other beautiful places on the grounds. One area of statues was used for good luck. People were throwing coins into the center to get that luck.
At the end there was a long stairway back to the parking lot.
After lunch, we were supposed to have free time until dinner. Katy offered to take anyone that wanted to go to the Nijo Castle. We couldn’t refuse that offer. It was one of the places I had not previously visited in Kyoto and was supposed to be a must-see place. When we arrived, we were first impressed with the high walls and moat surrounding the grounds covering 68 acres.
As we entered the main grounds, we headed directly to the Karamon Gate. This 400-year-old entrance to the castle was originally only to be used by the Shogun. Its beauty could be seen as soon as it came into view across the courtyard. It is drop dead gorgeous.
As you get closer, you find that there is so much to see under it also.
There are beautiful wood carvings underneath depicting luan, a mythical Chinese bird. Everything was so exquisite. It was difficult to move away from the gate to see the temple.
The main structure, the Ninomaru Palace, is actually composed of six attached buildings. We took a long tour of the different rooms. They were lavishly decorated with wood carvings and gold leaf paintings. It is by far the most ornate decorations I have seen in a temple in my trips to China or Japan. They were amazing, but we were not allowed to take photos of the interior. You can Google “Ninomaru Palace interior photos” to see what I am talking about.
After leaving the palace I took photos of the exteriors of the some of the buildings. We walked behind them to see the lovely garden area.
While we were in the palace, Katy pointed out the chirping noise we were hearing. She said it was coming from the nightingale floors. A sign in the palace states "The singing sound is not actually intentional, stemming rather from the movement of nails against clumps in the floor caused by wear and tear over the years". Legends are that the squeaking floors were done as a security device to prevent people from sneaking into the palace. Katy told us to look under one of the porches surrounding a building to see the nails that caused the chirping. I can see why they make noise. I don’t know why they would do the nails that way if it wasn’t to make noise. But I am no carpenter.
It was time to head back to the hotel. I took one more photo of the tall moat walls. We really enjoyed visiting the Nijo Castle. I am so glad that Katy arranged the optional tour.
Rather than taking a subway, Katy said it would be easier to take a bus, since it was only a few stops away directly down the street in front of the castle. The first bus that came by was too full for us to get on. She said another one was due in five minutes. When it did arrive, it looked pretty full too, but we all shoved into it. I was surprised we could fit. It was very crowded. Here is a photo of the experience. It wasn’t a good memory, but kind of funny looking back at it.
There was no OAT dinner planned that night. Katy said that anyone that wanted to go for okonomiyaki could go with her. It is sometimes called “Japanese Pizza”. I loved it the last time I was in Japan and was looking forward to having it again. Ten of us went with Katy. The restaurant was a short walk from the hotel. They had cute bottles of saki to go along with the meal.
The dish is cooked in front of you at your table on a tepan. There are many different ingredients that can go into an okonomiyaki. The main one is usually cabbage, but it can also be noodles. You can select the protein and/or vegetables you also want included, just like with a pizza. They brought out a bowl of cabbage, with other ingredients such as mayonnaise, spices, etc. The chef beat on the ingredients to get everything to the right consistency. We were surprised at how long he did this. They did one bowl for each okonomiyaki order. Some people ordered different dishes, but Cathy and I got their specialty.
It was cooking for a long time. Cathy’s dish had some items that were to be added later, but mine looked like it was done, other than the delicious topping they put on it. We asked if we could start eating mine and they said it was OK, so we both shared some of mine. Sure enough, not long after, they came with the other ingredients and quickly finished the dish, which included the sauce that is put on top. The below photo came from my visit to Japan in 2015. It better represents what it looks like than our partially consumed ones.
It was a fun dining experience and something that I have yet to find available in our part of the world. As we walked back to the hotel, I liked the reflection of the tower on side of our hotel.
It had been a wonderful touring day. We were looking forward to the next day’s adventures as we did every day.
Kyoto, Japan – Day 3
This morning we would be traveling to the town of Nara, a little over an hour’s drive away. It was the capital of Japan during the 8th century. Katy told us that we would probably have crowds where we were going because it was Saturday and the first day of Japan’s Golden Week. It is referred to this since several holidays occur during this time. Some businesses close and people take vacations during this time.
We exited the bus near Nara Park. This is a unique park in that is home to around a thousand sacred deer. They are designated as national treasures. In the Shinto religion deer are considered messengers of the gods. As you enter the park you can purchase deer food in the form of round wafers. Katy told us to be careful around the deer because some of them can become aggressive and bite or even jump up on you. There were a lot of deer looking for handouts and they were getting them.
Our main reason for being there was to visit Tōdai-ji or the Big Buddha Temple. We first passed through the ancient Great South Gate. It is over 800 years old and is the largest temple entrance gate in Japan. The wood does look rather old. There were two tall poles with dragon heads on top of them on both sides of the gate. They are obviously recent additions. I don't think they would be too effective at scaring off invaders.
Contained in both sides of the gate are massive 28-foot-tall wooden statues of guardian deities. The protective screens prevent decent photos, but at least they show their mean expressions.
Katy took us over to a display to show us models of the hands on the big Buddha statue we were about to see. They were very large. It helped us to know beforehand that the full statue was massive.
As we were walking toward the temple, I saw a maintenance guy with an old-fashioned broom. I had seen people using these in other places but hadn’t realized that they appear to be the preferred broom type in Japan. They reminded me of a witch’s broom.
We passed by a large shrine building. I first thought that it was where the big Buddha was at.
We then saw the temple. Now this was a big building. Until 1998, it was the world’s largest wooden building.
It is beautifully decorated. I liked the golden ornaments on the roof.
It was finally time to enter the temple and see the main attraction, the 50 ft tall bronze Buddha statue. It was quite large. A comparison with the monk dressed in black in front of the statue shows how large it is.
On both sides of the large statue are gold female Buddha statues. They are also quite impressive. We couldn’t see the one on his other side, since the large statue obstructed our view.
As we walked around to the back side of the big Buddha, we could see other interesting statues in the building.
I hadn’t expected to see the chair backs behind the large Buddhas.
At the back of the building were models of the three versions of the temple. The original one built in 751 AD was 30% larger than the current one that was constructed in 1709 AD. Below is the initial one with two 328-foot pagodas on either side of it. The pagodas do add a nice touch.
When we came around to the other side of the temple, we saw the other female Buddha and the other profile of the big Buddha.
Just outside the temple’s massive doors is a red-bibbed wooden statue of Binzuru, a Buddhist saint. It is one of the most adored features of the temple. It is believed that if you rub the statue on a place where you are afflicted and then rub the same place on your body you will be healed. I am surprised that the wood has held up over all these years of rubbing.
As we were walking away from the temple on our way to a different place, I had to take a photo of the temple from a different angle.
Not far away we came to an interesting statue of three lions. Close by was a replica of the decoration spires that were on each of the pagodas of the original temple. Those pagodas must have been quite a sight.
Rather than shopping after the temple tour, some of us took up Katy’s offer to walk up the hill to a part of the Kasuga Great Shrine complex. We first saw a small building with a large bell.
We then saw a stairway that we would climb that was lined with cement lanterns. This was looking like a great side trip from the temple.
We then came to a building with a row of cement columns leading up the path. Next to it was another stairway further going further up the hill. I couldn’t stop now. This place looked so inviting.
When we got to the top of the last flight of stairs, there was what looked like a shrine with a large lotus blossom bowl.
From that location, I could look down at where I had come from and out toward the town of Nara. This was so pretty.
I walked up to the large building that I had seen from the lower level. I liked the bells along the porch and the views from there.
As we were heading back to the main temple area where everyone else was waiting, Katy showed us a building made from angular wooden boards. She told us that it was a storage building. The way it was constructed, the wood would shrink during dry weather letting fresh air come in. When it rained or the humidity was high, the wood would swell and keep the interior dry. Pretty clever.
As we were leaving the temple grounds the hordes of people were descending onto the temple grounds. I was so glad we had arrived earlier in the day.
For lunch we were going to walk through old town Nara to a restaurant. It was a nice walk, but many of the original buildings had been replaced. I did like the concrete window grate on one of the buildings
Katy pointed out an old pharmacy building that has been there for many years. She told us to look inside. It was a neat place.
The restaurant we went to had a great meal with tempura and udon noodles. The green tea ice cream was good too.
We thought it was cute that the light poles had images of deer on them.
After lunch, we went to a tea company to learn about matcha tea. We first went outside to see some of their plants. This facility is a lab for testing plants and making new teas or improving existing ones. He showed us how the new varieties can be harvested by machine rather than by hand as the older ones had to be.
We went into the building where he showed us some of the methods that are used to make the tea from the leaves. The machines they were using were much smaller older ones than what they use in their large production facilities. But it was interesting to see how the leaves were handled to make tea.
We next went into a large room with large objects on the tables. As we got closer, we could see that they were very heavy manual stone grinding machines. There were some green tea leaves on the very top. As we turned the top section, a very small amount of tea leaves would move to the bottom where they would be ground into powder. It was a very slow process with a lot of wheel turning. It was a lot of work to get a little bit of tea powder. But we were proud of what we accomplished.
We took the matcha tea powder into another room where we were going to have a tea ceremony. We put some of our tea powder in a cup and they came around put in some water. We used a wooden stirrer to mix it up. Some ice cream was served on the side. The photo shows the tea after I drank most of it. I wasn’t too pleased with the taste of the matcha green tea. I guess I could just say it wasn’t my cup of tea. Sorry!
That evening we waited in the taxi line to go to dinner. The line went quickly. We went to a restaurant named Hoan. It was a small place.
The food was just OK. I was glad we had a wonderful lunch, since this was the weakest meal of the trip. The one memorable thing was that they served a spice for the salad in an origami bird. Unfortunately, we had to rip ours apart to get to the spice, since the paper got moist while the bird sat in the salad bowl.
We had a most enjoyable touring day, although I wish we could have seen more of the beautiful sites in Nara.
© 2023 ThePreismans.com • All Rights Reserved