Yokoso! Japan Day 3 - Kyoto Part 1

Kyoto Imperial Palace and Ginkakuji Temple (Silver Pavilion)

The next day we took a day trip to Kyoto, which was a 15 min ride via the Shinkansen (or bullet train) from Shin-Osaka station. Similarly like on Day 1, we have to take one stop from Osaka station where our hotel is located to Shin-Osaka, and transfer to the bullet train at Shin-Osaka. It was good that we had the JR Pass so we can take unlimited no. of bullet train rides without worrying about the cost, and it's faster than if we take the normal JR line trains.

P.S. I'd be splitting the post on our Kyoto trip into 2 posts, as we had covered too many places to squeeze into one post only.

The JR-Kyoto station was pretty modern.





Kyoto Tower that is directly opposite the station.



We were contemplating whether to have breakfast first before going for our first stop at Imperial Palace, but as many of the shops were not opened yet, we decide to skip breakfast.

We bought a one-day sightseeing pass that allows us to take most subways and trains in Kyoto free, which costs us 1,200 yen (S$18). Considered cheap since a bus trip itself is already 230 yen (S$3+). Transport in Japan is indeed not cheap ;p

To get to the Kyoto Imperial Palace, we had to take a subway and drop off at the Imadegawa station, before walking for about 10-15 min on foot. We were lost at first, but managed to find our way after asking for directions.

Entrance to the Kyoto Imperial Palace:





Beautiful acorn tree:



Kyoto Imperial Palace (Kyoto Gosho) used to be the residence of Japan's Imperial Family until 1868, when the emperor and capital were moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. It is located in the spacious Kyoto Imperial Park.

The palace can be visited only on guided tours held by the Imperial Household Agency. In order to join a tour, it is necessary to make reservations either at the agency's office in the Kyoto Imperial Park, or over the internet. We had booked ourselves on the English tour at 10 a.m. (there're only 2 tours everyday, other than Sundays and national holidays).

Us at the waiting area waiting for the tour to start:



Our first stop of the tour is the Okurumayose, which was the entrance used for official visits by courtiers who had been granted permission to enter the Palace precincts, and visit the Emperor and/or imperial family in the older times.



Next was the Shodaibunoma, which was used as a waiting area for the courtiers paying official visits to the Palace. There were 3 rooms named after the objects painted on the fusuma sliding door: Tiger room, Crane Room and Cherry Room. The courtiers waited in different rooms according to rank. Crane room was of the highest rank.





Outside the Shinshinden, the most important building in the Palace grounds that was used for important ceremonies of state such as enthronement ceremonies.







Shinshinden. During our tour, we were only allowed to peep in from outside.


(Picture courtesy of Wikipedia)






Our guide showing us a model roof that was used for most buildings in the Imperial Palace. As the ancient Japanese in using materials from Nature, the roof is made up of many layers of japanese cypress wood and bamboo nails. Such roofs are susceptible to fire and natural decay, and thus the Imperial Palace had been burnt down and relocated many times in the past; even today, the buildings have to be regularly inspected and their roofs reconstructed.



It's kinda amazing how the guide doesnt feel too hot wearing all black and in long-sleeve shirt. But we do notice that she tend to stand in the shade whenever we pause for a break and "story-telling" by the guide ;p

Seiryoden. This was used as the Emperor's residence for a long time before a separate Otsunegoten was built. The structure is built in the traditional shinden style like the Shinshinden, with the floor built much lower. The building is renowned in particular, throughout Japanese literature, such as The Tale of Genji, a monumental work that describes court life in the Heian period in vivid details. There are also two types of bamboo grown here, kuretake and kawatake.





Next was Kogosho, where ceremonies such as the Coming-of-Age ceremony were held, and on occasions when the Emperor received the Shogun or Daimyos.







Two pretty girls :):



Oikeniwa Garden. A strolling garden, with a large pond with an artificial shoreline toward the front and stepping stones across to a boat mooring place. There is also an arc-shaped Keyakibashi Bridge that stretches across the pond.

This was clearly the most picturesque place in the whole Imperial Palace grounds.









From a different part of the garden:










The last part of the journey was the Otsunegoten, which has the 15 rooms and was the new living quarters for the Emperors who lived there at the end of the 16th century, before the capital was transferred to Tokyo in 1869.












This also marks the end of the tour.

We left the Imperial Palace at 11+am, and as we had skipped breakfast earlier, we decide to go for an early lunch. Lunch was at a fast-food curry place near the Imperial Palace. It was also the first time that we ordered food from a vending machine, which was qt fun. I was glad that i still remember some Japanese to understand what kind of dishes are available.

The procedure for ordering was pretty simple. Once you press the button for the dish you want and put in some money, a ticket will be issued to you. You will then pass the ticket to the waitress/chef, who will prepare the food and put it in front of you. Our food came less than 5 min from when we first sat down.

The curry was very hot and appetising. Only pity was that there were not enough ingredients in the curry.

The next was Ginkakuji Temple (Silver Pavilion). To get to Ginkakuji, we took a bus from Kyoto station to the Philosopher's Path, where many famous temples and shrines such as the Nanzenji are located along.

ALong the Philospher's Path. It is a pleasant stone path through the northern part of Kyoto's Higashiyama district. The path gets its name due to Nishida Kitaro, one of Japan's most famous philosophers, who was said to practice meditation while walking this route on his daily commute to Kyoto University.









The place was also famous for being an ideal Cherry blossom viewing spot.
Although we did not get to see Cherry Blossoms during this season, we also saw many beautiful trees and flowers.





A small shrine:



A nice house along the path. There were many houses and shops that lined the path.



Signage pointing to Ginkakuji:



There was a line of small shops selling food and traditional crafts and accessories on the way up to the Ginkakuji.



To enter the Ginkakuji, we had to pay an entrance fee of 500 yen (~S$7.50).

Outside Ginkakuji:





Entrance to Ginkakuji:



Ancient map of the Ginkakuji temple grounds:



A signage warning visitors not to smoke within the grounds. Likely cause it could cause a serious fire mishap, with the main buildings/pavilions made of wood.



A dramatic entrance into the temple grounds:


(Picture courtesy of shokokuji website)

The fifty-meter-long pathway between the main gate and inner gate is lined with a distinctive type of bamboo fencing that has come to be known as Ginkaku-ji fencing (ginkaku-ji gaki). Though originally meant for protective purposes —separating the temple from the outside world, the solemn sparseness of the space also helps us to extinguish our worldly thoughts.

Ginkakuji was commissioned by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1435-90) as a retirement villa. His intention was to cover the main structure in silver (and thus the name), as an imitation of his grandfather's intentions for the Golden Pavilion (a landmark of Kyoto), but it was never carried out in the end. The name stayed, however.

The Silver Pavilion. It is a simple two-storey building, which mimicks the structure of the Golden pavilion.





Me and Zhenzhi outside the Silver Pavilion.



The silver pavilion was undergoing renovations when we went (which was scheduled to be completed only in Spring 2010), so we were kinda unlucky. A picture of Silver Pavilion in its complete beauty:


(Picture courtesy of sacred-destinations.com)

Nonetheless, there were other things to see, such as the Ginsyadan (aka Sea of Silver Sand). Qt aptly named. There are actually two sculpted mounds of sand, the higher one of which may symbolize the sacred Mt. Fuji (seen in the picture above with the Silver Pavilion). It sparkles in the moonlight, giving it the nickname Sea of Silver Sand.



In the temple complex, there are lovely Japanese gardens. One features the silver sand mounds. The other is a green pond garden overlooked by the pavilion.





Beautiful flowers and trees in the temple complex:





Me in the gardens:



Us gals:



Another notable building is Togudo (East Seeking Hall), where Yoshimasa is believed to have lived in the front room. A statue of a priest is probably a portrait of the shogun himself. The back room, Dojinsai (Comradely Abstinence) was used for tea ceremonies and became the prototype for traditional tea pavilions that emerged across Japan in the following century.



We next made our way up to the "observation deck", where we can see a bird's eye view of the surroundings.

Another pic of us gals on the steps going up:







View from the top. You can see Silver Pavilion and the silver sand:





Before leaving the place, we bought some souvenirs. I bought charms for my parents, and handphone chains with a miniture sculpture of the silver pavilion for friends. There were qt alot of Hello Kitty accessories also.

They also sold traditional sweets and pastries. In particular, there was a type of pastry shaped like the mound of silver sand, which tasted pretty good too.

Me and Joey outside the souvenir shop:



The weather was so hot that we couldnt resist having a maccha+vanilla ice-cream each from a nearby shop outside the temple:







The ice-cream is super smooth, and refreshing in the hot weather. I'm so gonna eat it again, if not in Japan, at least in places like MOF in S'pore when i'm back.

Ok, this marks the end of part 1.
will be updating with part 2 soon. keep posted!