Kyoto Imperial Palace

Kyoto was the capital of Japan for over 1000 years (imagine!) until Tokyo was given that designation in 1869. The present Kyoto Imperial Palace was used from about 1331 although, like many of the temples and other wooden structures around here, it was repeatedly destroyed by fire and then reconstructed, most recently in 1854. (Thankfully the Japanese are persistent and didn't resort to building fireproof but ugly concrete boxes).  The palace compound consists of several buildings which, in addition to their significance to Japan's cultural heritage, are still used for ceremonial purposes. We took advantage of one of the twice-daily guided tours in English to get a peek inside the walls.

 One of many grand gates to the Imperial Palace compound

 The Shinshinden, the most important building on the palace grounds - which is why they don't allow us to get very close to it.

 The royal crest with chrysanthemum incorporated into the facia.

 The orange-red color, a derivation of that used in Chinese architecture, is meant to symbolize light and fire.  Deborah says she's not sure that's such a good idea given the building's history of burning down.

 Cross section showing roof laboriously made from Cypress bark and bamboo pins.  It takes 25 years to reroof the palace buildings, and the roofs last 30 years.

 The royal couple

 Tiger and elephant carving detail on a shrine in the Palace Park.

 That's craftsmanship

 The Oikeniwa Garden on the Palace grounds.

Kyoto House

We are now settled into our house sit for the remainder of our time in Kyoto. We have it pretty easy here because there are just three cats to feed twice a day. The cats have access to the outside so there is no litter box to clean. There are no dogs to walk, no house plants to water, and, this being winter, there is no yard maintenance. As I said: easy.

The house itself is an old 1950s wooden Japanese house. It's not without its charms with wood floors, tatami mats, and shoji screens. But it also has its quirks and shows signs of a neglectful landlord (the family we are house sitting for are renters). The house definitely shows its age as it has no insulation and no central heating. And it is COLD here. The saving grace is a pair of kerosene heaters used to keep a couple of individual rooms warm, the most important of which is the living area where we spend our waking hours when we're not out sightseeing. If we keep the doors to the room closed and the kerosene tank full the heater can keep up with the thin, drafty walls and we can stay cozy. Deborah fairly freezes when she's working in the kitchen, however, and has learned to cook really, really fast.

The other heater is a smaller portable unit kept in the bedroom but we don't run it when we're asleep – just a bit before we get in bed to take the edge off the chill. We stay toasty cuddling up under a pile of blankets and with the occasional boost of body heat from one of the resident cats, but middle-of-the-night trips to the freezing bathroom are a thing to be dreaded.

Our host family consists of an Italian/British professor, his Canadian/Japanese wife, who is a teacher, a two-year old toddler, and a 3-month old baby. They are off to Thailand on holiday while we look after their three cats Mimu, Sookie, and Atticus. Mimu is the most social and hangs out with us a fair bit. Sookie likes attention too but seems to prefer to hang out in the unheated upstairs area, although she is warming up to us more and more. Atticus we were told has taken to spending more and more time outside or away and that we might not see him at all during our stay. So far that has been the case. His dinner usually is gone by the next morning, but who knows who is eating it.

This house is in the northern part of the city, not too far from a subway station so we can get around fairly easily. It's not a palace but it will serve us well as a base for exploring this beautiful city. And of course the price is right.

 Hard to see behind the trees, but this is our temporary home in Japan.

 Living room.

 Upstairs

 Very steep stairs.  My feet only fit sideways on the treads.

 

 Sookie

 Mimu - preheating our bed

 The doorways are all low. To avoid a major concussion I have to duck constantly or just continually walk around hunched like I have an advanced case of osteoporosis.

 Sookie hanging out on the roof.

The Golden Pavilion

You can't walk two blocks in Kyoto without bumping into a temple, but one of the most famous is Kinkaku-Ji, or the Golden Pavilion. It was built by a Shogun in 1397 as his retirement villa. After his death, in accordance with his wishes, his son converted it to a Buddhist temple. In 1950 some zealot burned it to the ground, but within five years it had been rebuilt to exact original design, except more of the signature gold leafing was added. Set at the edge of a reflecting pond, it's supposed to be even more picturesque in autumn when the maples are in full color.

 The Golden Pavilion

 Street Scene.  Like this bicyclist, you see a fair number of Japanese wearing masks.  They are either worried about air pollution (which isn't evident here), or they are germaphobes, or they are preparing to perform surgery.

 Gate to the Imamiya-Jinja Shrine

 Imamiya-Jinja Shrine

 Kitano Tenmangu Shrine. Worshipers line up to bow, make an offering, pray and ring the bell.

Deborah

Cold Squid in the Morning

Japanese cuisine is varied and delicious, but also often unfamiliar. Soon we'll start our house sit and have access to a full kitchen, but until then we've been eating out more and making do with convenience store purchases cooked with the hotel microwave and hot pot. We haven't come across any cereal – cold or hot – for breakfast, but we did find yogurt and of course fruit. The hotel does provide a few pieces of bread, but that's not so good for gluten-sensitive Deborah, and even I can only ingest so many refined carbohydrates before feeling gross. So we've also taken to eating previously cooked cold calamari in the mornings, which sounds strange but is actually delicious. I have no reason to believe the Japanese eat this for breakfast either – although I understand a traditional Japanese breakfast would include fish, along with steamed rice and miso soup.

Lunch we've been eating out, with surprisingly good success. It's difficult to pick a spot when you can't read the menu, or even the sign on the door to know if you're entering a restaurant or a hardware store. Fortunately, some places do have English menus or at least pictures of the various dishes. This is where pointing comes in very handy. But sometimes the photos are blurry and you end up picking a bowl of soup with a raw egg dumped in it. Deborah's afraid she's going to accidentally order eel. Avoiding meat is a challenge because it is not uncommon to find bits of pork mixed in with a fish and shrimp dish. We often end up in noodle shops because they are the least expensive. If you aren't careful you can spend a small fortune eating out in Japan, but we've yet to exceed the $20 mark for the two of us at a meal. It helps that we aren't ordering drinks and that there's no tipping.

One of our favorite finds is Okonomiyaki, or Japanese Pancake. It's a flour/egg/yam batter mixed with cabbage and various seafood and vegetables, grilled on both sides, and topped with a barbecue-like sauce and bonito (fish) flakes, then drizzled with a cross-hatched pattern of Japanese mayonnaise. Yum. Another treat we enjoyed yesterday on the way to the Kiyomizu-dera temple were the doughy little confections filled with plum, cherry blossom, or even green tea. These were offered as free samples to the tourists and pilgrims on the way to the temple. We didn't turn down any – it was just like being back at Costco.

 

 Kiyomizu-Dera Temple

 Snowing just a bit...

 Drinking the holy water

 Kiyomizu main hall - currently being renovated

 Field trip

 

 Secret Garden - looks good even in the dead of winter

 Happy Soup Lady

 One of many sweet shops

 Along the path to Kiyomizu-Dera

 Part of Kodai-Ji Temple Complex

 Bamboo forest

 Us at Kodai-Ji

Chion-In, Kyoto

There are said to be 1000 Buddhist temples in Kyoto, and it does seem like you glimpse one every time you turn a corner. Yesterday we spent much of the day exploring the vast temple complex of Chion-In, which is the headquarters of the Jodo School, one of the most popular Buddhist sects in Japan. It was founded in 1234, and the oldest of the present buildings date to the 17^th century. It's a beautiful and very atmospheric place with chanting monks, burning incense, golden Buddhas, temple bells, cemeteries, gardens, cawing ravens and praying pilgrims.  Not to mention the amazing architecture.

 It was a bright overcast day and quite cold, with light snow showers in the morning, but we were dressed for it. Fortunately, we haven't spent enough time in Hawaii yet to lose our tolerance for cold temperatures. Here in Kyoto we're seeing highs in the 40s and lows in the 30s – not much different than winter temperatures at home in Olympia. And today it rained all day – also not much different than Olympia.

 Chion-In

 Deborah

 Golden Buddha

 Inside one subtemple, looking across at another.

 Zen garden.

 The Main Gate.

 That's me in the hoodie, trying to stay warm.

 Cemetery - We think the ski-like things are some sort of prayer sticks.

 A raven in the cemetery - how appropriate is that?

 Prayer rugs and drums for your chanting pleasure.

 

 Check out that roof line.