Spring is on its way in many places, though temperatures where we’ve been going are cool. We saw snow from the train between Nagoya and Kyoto, though fortunately did not see any on our walks.
Between our Air B&B and the Nagoya station, these dogs watched over us from their second floor balcony.
Then near the Kyoto train station, we found some penguin friends.
Lunch was on an 11th floor restaurant. You could walk up; we took the escalator. The food was delicious: Katsu pork from rice fed pigs. First though, we were given a bowl of sesame seeds and a pestle to grind them into a paste. There was a red wine and apple liquid to add to the paste, resulting in a delicious dipping sauce.
Next, the temple crawl. We started with the one closest to the train station. Shinsen Honbyu reminded me a bit of a Catholic Cathedral. Outside it is imposing.
Inside, it was incredibly opulent. Gold everywhere near the alter.
The next temple, across the street from the National Museum and beside the Hyatt Regency Hotel has an impressive and contemplative garden. Pictures are not allowed inside Chishaku-In Temple, so you’ll have to imagine the 1,000 statues lined up on ten tiers of risers protecting the Buddha in the centre. Evenly spaced on the bottom tier were lesser deities.
It was a short walk to the gardens at the original site of the Hojuji Palace. In another six weeks, they will be spectacular.
We ended the day with a walk, going by a theatre with impressive architecture.
Juliette Knits 