Kyoto Part II

Another thing we did in Kyoto was one of the neatest things we did on the whole trip. There was a shrine tucked into the mountains called Kiyomizu Temple. The building itself is very cool and the setting is amazing. It's built right out from a hill and has some great views.

It was actually nominated for one of the "new wonders of the world", but it didn't receive enough votes to make the final cut. Regardless, it is a really cool place to visit and we would both recommend it.

Kyoto

Next up on our trip was Kyoto. We arrived the same evening we visited Himeji, so we just headed straight to the hotel for the night.

I guess we did go out and grab some food first, though. We had Japanese style curry at a fast food curry place. It was pretty simple, basically just rice and some brown curry sauce. Simple, but it was actually pretty good.

Anyway, one of the things we did in Kyoto was go to the Kyoto Imperial Palace for a guided tour. Kyoto was the capital of Japan before it was moved to Tokyo. The palace was where the royal family lived and received guests. The pictures below show some of the palace.

Biking

You may or may not have noticed that I've started a list of my rides on the right column. I need to find a better way to do this, but for now I thought it was a good way to show what I've been doing. Plus, it's a good motivational tool for me.

Bourne Ultimatum

Jen and I went to see the third "Bourne" movie last night. Just like the other ones, it was awesome. It's been a long time since I have seen a good action movie. I highly recommend it.

More Japan (Himeji Part II)

In addition to the castle in Himeji, there was also a pretty nice garden. Here's some pictures from it.

More Japan

After leaving Hiroshima, Jen and I headed toward Kyoto. On our way we stopped off in a small town to see Himeji Castle. It's reputed to be the largest "fuedal" castle in all of Japan. Of all the castle's I've seen in Japan, or Europe for that matter, Himeji Castle is definitely the most impressive. It is absolutely beautiful.

The pictures below show the main tower. There is also a fairly large grounds with lots of other buildings, but the tower dominates. You can also see some of the moats around the castle. You can also see how the main tower rises far above the rest of the city. At one time, the entire city was a big castle with moats and walls around the outside. The Japanese cities of the middle ages were MUCH more impressive than those in Europe.

This last picture shows Jen pretending to shoot an arrow out of one of the arrow holes. Let's just say it's a good thing we were born in the 20th century.

Bike Routes

Since we moved to Avon I've been mapping out my bike routes using Google Maps. Check them out here if you feel interested.

On to Hiroshima

Just like last time I went to Japan, Jen and I got a JR Railpass. This pass let's you travel all over the country as much as you want while the pass is valid. We got a 14-day "Green" pass. All the green part means is that we get to sit in the first-class car instead of the standard cars. If you ever go, get the green pass, it's definitely worth it.

 

 

Anyway, also just like last time, the first thing we did outside of Tokyo was go to Hiroshima. There is a museum there and a building that is left over from the blast. It's an interesting experience. A very humbling one.

 

 

On a lighter note, Hiroshima does have a couple other interesting attractions. First, we had a dish called Okona-miyaki. It's basically some batter, a bunch of cabbage, and some other stuff all fried up in front of you. We got it with noodles and it was quite good. Below is picture of us getting ready to eat.

We also went to the castle there. Some pictures are also below...

More Pictures from Hiroshima

 

 

Japan Part II

I guess it's time for another installment about our Japan trip. The first weekend we got there we didn't really accomplish much at all. We hung out with my friend and basically just bummed around Tokyo.

We went to a shrine called Sensoji Temple. It's basically a huge tourist trap with a Buddhist temple at the end of it. There are lots of stands selling pretty much any little trinket you could think of. It's interesting, but a little too commercial for my taste. Some pictures are below...