Photos of Kyoto!!

Last week Peter and I took a trip up to "mainland" Japan (yes, I'm aware that Japan is an island country) to see some of the sights. Over the next few days I'm going to be posting photos (as promised!) of some of the highlights of our trip. Peter and I took more than 500 photos in five days, but I promise I won't post all of them.

(A heron in the Kamo River)

It was a fantastic vacation where almost everything worked out exactly as planned and all the attractions either lived up to or exceeded our expectations. We spent three days in Kyoto and two in Osaka, with a daytrip West to Himeji Castle, one of the most spectacular castles I've ever seen.

A watch tower and the outer wall of Nijo Castle in Kyoto

Kyoto is one of the former imperial capitals of Japan, and one of the only cities in Japan whose original cultural buildings survived the bombings of World War II. Although most of the cities buildings are now modern, there are literally thousands of historic Buddhist Temples, Shinto Shrines, and traditional Japanese gardens hidden in the city, in addition to an Imperial Palace, a Shogun's Palace, and tons of traditional wooden buildings. Our first night there, we walked a couple blocks along the Kamo River and one of it's canals behind our hotel.

Kamo River Walk

On that short walk, we found a Buddhist Temple, a garden, and a Shrine, none of which were marked on the map. These "discoveries" were one of our favorite parts of Kyoto because they felt like our own private temples, with all the beauty of the tourist attractions and none of the people. It was like learning a secret.

This is one of the streets we walked along. It could be anywhere in the world.

This is the temple we found on that street.
And this is the shrine we found along an alley off that street.

This is a Japanese Maple in the garden we discovered. Fact of the Day: Japanese Maple leaves are red year round, not just in the fall.

More photos tomorrow!