Kyoto, Japan

Tuesday, April 9, 2019   Kyoto, Japan......leaving from Kobe, Japan

The Millennium docked in Kobe at 9:00am. The first group of passengers did not get called to immigration until 10:00am.  Larry and I were in group 15 so we kicked back to watch a very interesting travel show in our cabin until we were called at 12 noon. Every passenger had to do a face to face processing with individual pointer fingerprints and facial snapshot being taken. I had never seen an immigration that took so long. 

 A dog walked through the immigration grounds looking for something, we are guessing drugs but it could have been fruits and vegetables.  We were individually questioned about taking cigarettes or alcohol off the ship. It was a long process and our cruise director probably walked ten miles with all the pacing and walking he did trying to keep everyone happy. 

We walked out of the terminal at 1:00pm and boarded the metro riding it two stops to Sannomya  Station where we boarded the Shinkansen bullet train built in 1964…the Japanese Railway high speed train.  Reaching a speed of 200 miles an hour we were in Kyoto 45 minutes later. 

                                                            Modern train station/mall in Kyoto

After inquiring at the information booth in the train station, we boarded the local bus 205 taking a 45 minute ride to Kinkakuji Temple (Temple of the Golden Pavilion)….with about a thousand other people. 

                                                                                Entrance

                                                               A remarkably old tree
We arrived at 3:00pm.

 We literally shuffled around the lake because of the crowds of locals and took in the beautiful sight.

                                                                The Golden Pavilion
This is a Buddhist hall containing relics of Buddha….. Formally named Rokuon-ji Temple, it is a Zen Buddhist Temple.

                                               This is our ticket into the Golden Pavilion...Fancy!

The area was originally the site of a villa and owned by a statesman. A shogun (ruler) of the Muromachi period took a liking to the area and acquired it from the Saionji Family in 1397 building a villa.  This became the center for entertaining nobility. After the death of the shogun, the villa was converted into a temple and in 1994 was registered as a World Cultural Heritage Site.

Gold foil lacquer covers the upper two levels and a shining phoenix stands on top of the shingled roof. It was very picturesque.

We left the crowds behind and walked a couple of miles to the Ryoan ji Temple. 

Originally a country house, it was acquired in 1450 for use as a Zen training temple. Fire destroyed it during the Onin War and it was rebuilt in 1499. It was registered as a World Heritage Site in 1994.

The cherry blossoms were in full bloom around the lake…grand beauty. Mandarin ducks quacked.

                                                                         Buddha

                       We took our shoes off in the Kuri, the main building of the temple. 

We stuck our heads into the Tea room, Zoroku, which was blocked from entering. 

We sat down on the edge of the rock garden….made up of 15 rocks of which you could only count 14 from any place that you choose to sit. It was created around 1500.

We wandered through the gardens enjoying the oriental architecture and the cherry blossoms at their peak.

                               What a peaceful relaxing area to enjoy all the beauty of nature!

                                                                Exiting the temple

It was far from the maddening crowds of the Golden Pavilion and Larry and I did feel some peaceful Zen here. It was an enjoyable way to end our afternoon in Kyoto. We boarded the JR 50 public bus back to the Kyoto Station. 

Private school high school students rode the public transportation to and from school.

We looked around for something to eat in the huge mall under the train station. We didn’t recognize anything that looked appealing to us for dinner so we boarded the 6:15pm commuter bullet train that was standing room only. How do these people commute with standing room only after putting in a full day of work? Larry and I slid into two empty seats after passing through Osaka….30 minutes later. 

                                        What an incredible day of cherry blossoms!!!!

We arrived back at the ship at 8:00pm in time to chow down on some Dori grilled fish and a crisp salad before heading for bed. What a day! Finding our way through Kobe to the metro, the bullet train, public bus and walking through two temples…our brains really passed the test today. Getting horizontal sounded pretty darn good!