Day 3

The plan for today was to start as early as we could so that we would get to Nara a bit earlier in the morning, finish the tour there early in the afternoon and from there make the trip to Iga-Ueno to visit the famous ninja museum of this small rural town in the Kyoto prefecture. Starting early wasn’t a problem, of course, because the jet lag hadn’t released its grip quite yet: it’s a strange feeling waking up at 05:30 just because your body is telling you so – normally cannons would be required to wake me up so early in the morning! However, this had an additional benefit. A little reading in the DK guide started unveiling what the day ahead would hold for us, and it was all fascinating.

Nara is the first official capital of Japan, although back in 710 AD when it was established it was known as Heijo. Only 74 years later the capital was moved to another city because the monasteries in Nara had accumulated too much power. However, even after this move, Nara remained one of the most powerful Buddhist centres in Japan and perhaps in the whole of East Asia, especially because of the presence of the massive Todaiji temple. That was definitely in our sights for that day. The area of the ancient capital nowadays is preserved in the form of a park, where one can find all the old shrines and temples in one place.

The train ride from Kyoto is a relatively short one, although it can range from 45 to 80 minutes, depending if it’s a rapid or a slow local train that you take from Kyoto. We were lucky and our ride was only about 50 minutes long. Having arrived relatively early in Nara, we left the train station and headed straight towards the park on the east side of the city centre. The walk is substantial but not too long (about 20-25 minutes) and the buzzing in the shops and their windows makes it an interesting route.

On the edge of the park, the Sarusawa-ike pond acts as a kind of natural border between the park and the modern city. This was our first stop:

From here, we turned left and climbed up the steps to the Kofukuji Temple:

In this large complex and among the various buildings (including an impressive five-storied pagoda) one will notice one of the attractions of Nara Park – and it’s not a building:

The sacred deer in Nara Park are omnipresent, wherever you turn your head you are bound to see one. As they are tame they will come very close to you and they will even let you stroke them, but only if you bribe them with crackers!

We then moved back on the main road and followed the path to the Kasuga Grand Shrine, our first main stop for this tour. The shrine is situated deep in the forest of the park and it’s completely isolated from the rest of the temples you find in the park. I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that it is the only Shinto temple you can find here (all the others are Buddhist). Either way, this place is most definitely worth the effort and the walk (almost an hour’s walk from the train station where we started). On the way, the wide pebbled path has stone lanterns on both sides,

the trees provide a welcome shade and there are at least a couple of water fountains on the way where you can stop for a quick refreshment.

At the end of the main path sits the Kasuga Shrine, in all its red glory. Going through the south Nanmon Gate one can tell there is something special behind these wooden walls:

After a brief tour and a little breather on the steps outside the shrine, we went back on the trail and headed towards the north side of the park, walking through the dense forest. On the way to the Todaiji Temple, there is a little shrine complex, where among others one will find the Tamukeyama Hachimangu Shrine ‘hiding’ in the trees,

and the also impressive Nigatsu-do Temple, resting on the top of a small hill:

The heat had started taking its toll again so we had a little break at the foot of the hill and then consulted our map and turned around the corner heading towards the Todaiji Temple. The Great Buddha Hall which is located in the centre of the complex is the largest wooden structure in the world:

It houses a huge Buddha statue (15m tall, 500 tonnes)

and also two wooden statues of ‘guardians’ on each side of the Buddha:

This is easily one of the most impressive buildings I’ve seen in my life. The sheer size of it and the fact that it is all wooden (not to mention that it has been rebuilt twice because fire has burnt it down) makes it a mighty impressive sight.

Before leaving the temple, I bought a few traditional omamori (lucky charms) to give out to friends and family. I suspect they don’t do very much (although you’ll find something for every occasion, ranging from academic excellence to impotence!) but they do look pretty.

For some more photos from Nara, click here.

It was now around 14:30 and it was time to start our way to the train station, as we had to make a move if we were to make it to Iga-Ueno on time. The train journey from here was a little complicated, as we had to change train twice (at Kizu and Kamo) before eventually reaching Iga-Ueno, however I think this element made the journey even more interesting.

As we moved from the main JR Kyoto line to the local Kansai line, one thing I noticed is that it is impossible to lose your way. All signs and maps in train stations (even the tiny two-platform station at Kamo) are both in Japanese and English, so along with a good map or guide book you know that you’ll be able to find your way around.

As for this journey, well, let’s say we weren’t as lucky this time around. Having boarded the train from Kamo, we realised that the time was just after 16:00 now and we knew it was going to be tight. We chatted with the only non-local person on the train (an American exchange student who was living in the area and studying in Kyoto) and he told us that the ninja museum was definitely a great place to visit but that it normally closes at around 17:30, so chances were that we wouldn’t make it in time. And indeed, we arrived at Iga-Ueno just after 17:00, a good two hours after having left from Nara. We knew it was too late to make it to the museum, so we decided to head back to Kyoto and make the trip tomorrow, with a bit more time in our hands, knowing now how long it would take to get here from Kyoto.

We caught the next train back to Kamo and slowly found our way back on the train to Kyoto. It was unfortunately one of the slow ones, but we didn’t really mind – we were so tired that we appreciated the opportunity to rest. And there was another opportunity as well: to experience two more characteristic incidents that show how unique Japanese culture is.

First of all, we experienced our first meishi, in other words the exchange of business cards. Opposite us in the train car, there was a middle-aged gentleman, well dressed in a suit, who, as soon he got into the train, started examining us. At first we thought that was a little strange, because we’d expect a lot of foreign tourists to be boarding the train connecting Nara and Kyoto. But then we realised why he was looking at us: he wanted to talk to us. So, with English we only just barely understood at first (later on we got used to the accent, I guess), he said hello and started explaining to us that he was studying Business English at the University of Osaka and that he was very keen to practice. (Well, we got that! haha) Right after saying hello, he pulled a business card holder out of his jacket pocket and he presented a card to each of us (and of course, with both hands holding the card). I was prepared for this occasion, and I did the same in return. He was quite impressed with that, but he studied my card with a lot of care and then he started asking questions about my job and where I work with genuine interest.

The business etiquette in Japan, especially the exchange of business cards, is one cultural element you want to get right when you do business there. However, this showed me that this could be true in everyday life as well. I certainly appreciated the (rather unfamiliar!) experience of having to examine one’s card carefully and try to come up with reasonable questions just by looking at it – it gets the conversation going. Also, it is a sign of respect to the person you are talking to to treat the card with the same respect you want to treat him, so you don’t mess about with folding the card or put it in your back pocket – that is a major faux pas!

The second incident was even more remarkable – I guess for people like us who have been living in a country with a strong train culture, albeit being accustomed to constant delays. At some point the train pulled in at a station and, after letting the new passengers in, the doors didn’t close and we didn’t move, for something like two minutes. A two-minute delay on a train in Japan is apparently very serious business: the train guard made an announcement and suddenly we saw some people jumping off their seats and rushing to the ticket desk at the station, and then returning to their seats holding a little piece of paper. We were baffled. Thankfully, another westerner who was sitting close by noticed our bewilderment and was happy to explain: an electrical storm over Kyoto meant that inbound trains to Kyoto had to be stopped until the storm cleared out, so the advice given to passengers was that they could ask for a notice saying that the delay was the responsibility of the train company. That way if a passenger was delayed from any kind of business they had, they would have a formal excuse. Now, I remind you this happened at around 20:00 in the evening. Apparently this is standard practice in Japan…

A couple more minutes later the train resumed its journey and we arrived in Kyoto, tired but with a chest full of fascinating memories. It was now time to get some rest and prepare for the excursions planned for the next day: one would certainly be Iga-Ueno (a successful visit this time!) and the second one, Himeji Castle.

Day 2

It’s 03:00 and I’m awake. Hardly surprising, of course. Whatever you’ve heard about jet lag before is absolutely true – it does mess you up. Nothing to worry about if you have good reading material with you (my thanks to Maria for the tip!), but even reading feels a bit unnatural at that time of the day. A couple of hours later a sharp metallic sound slowly starts building up from the street below. Later on I’d realise that this continuous buzz is nothing else than the singing of endless swarms of Japanese cicadas, called semi in Japanese, which you can find nestled on every tree out there. Especially in the months of July and August there is hardly any place where you can’t hear them. And apparently they are very short-lived, so for the time they are alive they really have a good go with their almost deafening singing.

At around 06:00 I decided that it’s time to plan the day ahead. There are quite a few places to see in Kyoto and it would be an idea to get as many of them in a day as possible in order to allow more time for our excursions outside Kyoto in the days that we’d spend there. No better place to start for this kind of planning than with the excellent Dorling Kindersley Guide to Japan, which proved to be a most valuable companion for the duration of the trip.

After having breakfast, we started our way from the hotel towards Nijo Castle, our first sightseeing spot for the day. The time was just before 09:00 when we started our 15-minute walk towards the castle and it was already feeling like it was 35oC out there! It was going to take some time to get used to this heat... Nijo Castle was originally built as the official Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu, in 1603, and its construction was completed in 1626 by the third Tokugawa Shogun, Iemitsu. Today it is one of the 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kyoto. Apart from the impressive Ninomaru Palace, which is also designated as a National Treasure in Japan, on the east of the compound and the various imposing structures around the inner Honmaru Palace, one can just enjoy a walk in the many gardens interspersed between the buildings. Despite the intense heat that had already emerged by 10:00, the gardens and the moat surrounding the walls of Honmaru were a nice cool interlude.

Inside the Ninomaru Palace we had the chance to see a number of exquisite wall paintings as we walked along the various inner rooms. Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of this building, apart from the extremely old and remarkably well-preserved paintings (many of which date back to the 17th century), is the famous Nightingale Floor (Uguisu-Bari). The concept of a floor squeaking like a singing bird when someone steps on it sounds (and feels) quite amazing. And to think that this was set up so that the residents of the palace would be able to hear intruders!

For some photos from Nijo Castle, please click here.

Our next intended stop was the Imperial Palace which, although it looked to be pretty close to Nijo on the map, was nearly a good 10-minute taxi ride away, at least to get to the main gate on the north-west corner of the compound. Before a visitor can enter the grounds of the palace, one needs to have a permit from the Imperial Household Agency, which you obtain in advance of your visit. The guidelines for this are very specific, so we thought we should do that first and maybe get a slot for an afternoon tour. Luckily, there were available spaces for the English tour at 14:00 that afternoon – we heard later from other people who only came in the afternoon to get their permit, that they would have to come back tomorrow.

Having got our permits, we then headed off to our next stop for the day, the Shimogamo Shrine, in the north outskirts of the city.

This is one of the oldest shinto shrines in the city, and in fact it’s a whole complex of little temples, storage buildings and lots of other structures. The grounds are located in a very old forest which is considered almost sacred, and to be honest, having sat on one of the benches in the park on the south side of the shrine, I can’t blame them. The thick patches of leaves allow just enough sunlight through to create a bright green backdrop for streams of running water, huge crows, joggers and, of course, weary tourists.

However, it is also here that we had our first surreal experience in Japan. As per usual, I thought it would be wise to take the tour of the main shrine, which is normally not open to visitors. So, having paid a very modest entrance fee, we entered an ante-room where our tour guide asked us to take a seat. It was me and my fellow gaijin and a young Japanese couple with their little baby. The guide took a little folder with plastic pockets showing some words and phrases in kanji and he unleashed a detailed account of the history of the shrine in excellent... Japanese. After a minute or two, when we realised that the tour was only available in Japanese, it did feel a little awkward. But we waited patiently until our guide finished his speech and then followed him out of the ante-room. Still, there was more; he then led the way to the inner garden of the shrine, so we all followed him there. The garden was beautiful and the shrine looked terribly old but extremely well-maintained.

In all this time, our guide was firing his detailed descriptions without being deterred at all by the fact that two gaijins, who obviously could not understand a word he was saying, were still tagging along. At the time I think our curiosity about the inside of the shrine was greater than our embarrassment – well, this whole situation would certainly seem embarrassingly amusing to an outside observer! In any case, shortly afterwards we moved further out to another part of the garden where we saw an open gate leading to the entrance of the grounds, so that’s where we took the opportunity and made a discrete exit.

After a brief but most welcome rest at the park I mentioned earlier, we decided it was time to leave this place as well and move on to our next destination.

For some photos from Shimogamo Shrine, please click here.

Our next stop was in the north-northwest outskirts of the city, at the beautiful Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji). Situated in the middle of a gorgeous strolling-garden and sitting on the edge of a pond known as the Mirror Pond, the building was erected in 1397, three years after Ashikaga Yoshimitsu abdicated his throne and decided to retire in this area, enjoying the peace and quiet of priesthood.
The original building was destroyed in fires, for the last time in 1950, so the pavilion currently in place is a reconstruction, with all original aspects of the building (gold-leaf gilding, paintings etc.) faithfully restored.
A stroll around the gardens revealed some glorious views of the surroundings:
For some more photos from Kinkaku-ji, please click here.

The time now was around two in the afternoon and the heat was really getting unbearable. One thing you get to appreciate in Japan, especially in areas with a lot of visitors and tourists, are the soft drinks dispensers, which are literally everywhere. If they were allowed to install these vending machines inside temples, I’m sure they would have done that too! And despite some brand names which may not read or sound very appealing to your taste, like Pocari Sweat (which happens to be one of the most popular brands in Japan), you get pretty much anything you may look for in a drinks vending machine. In fact, sometimes you also get things that as a Westerner you wouldn’t expect to find in a vending machine – like beer! Not that you’d want to be drinking beer in this heat, mind you…
So, today’s tip is: don’t worry too much about having 2-litre bottles of water with you, the water gets warm very quickly and the bottle is a burden to carry around. Just make sure you budget your water and soft drinks while on the go. On average we’d drink something around 4 litres of water a day when we were out and about, so this can become quite expensive after a while. Obviously, another option is to not visit Japan in August! (Have I said this before? Don’t worry, you’ll read this again and again!)

It was now time to get back to the Imperial Palace for the afternoon tour.

The Kyoto Imperial Palace is most certainly an impressive structure. As the Emperor of Japan resided in these premises until 1869 (when he moved to Tokyo, after the Meiji Restoration), and as Kyoto was the capital of Japan for a bit more than 1,000 years, it makes sense that this building complex will have features characteristic to the art and architecture of many centuries. About 120 people who joined the English tour that afternoon got out of the waiting room just before Gishumon Gate and we started walking south along the west wall of the 27-acre compound.

Like with many settings in Japan where one might expect the utmost luxury, one gets exactly the opposite. The design of most buildings is plain and seemingly ordinary and the overall impression you get from the kind of lifestyle the inhabitants of this place must have led is that of austerity and moderation. Interior decorations are practically non-existent and at most you get century-old paintings, either black ink on white rice-paper and silk or colour pigments on wooden panels, like this one below:
As with the Kinkaku-ji, perhaps the most impressive feature of the complex was the wonderful (Oikeniwa) Garden, on the east side of the palace complex. An extensive canal system drains into a pond which, among other, features the beautiful Keyakibashi Bridge:
A most refreshing sight in the blistering afternoon heat!

For some more photos from the Kyoto Imperial Palace, please click here.

Looking at our watches, weary and tired after a day that started at 03:00 in the morning, we decided that at 16:00 it was about time to return to our hotel and get some rest – and maybe also try to bring our sleeping routine into some sort of order. So we headed back having thoroughly enjoyed a full day of sightseeing in Kyoto. Tomorrow would take us to Nara, the ancient capital of Japan.

To be continued...