we based ourselves in kyoto for seven days, and the weather was awful the whole time, with rain and/or snow making walking and sightseeing a very cold and wet experience. but we made the most of it and still had a pretty good time. did lots of day trips, out to himeji, uji, nara and osaka. saw about a billion temples and shrines in kyoto (admittedly it was getting all a bit too much towards the end...) then headed west to hiroshima, briefly stopping at okayama on the way.
himeji castle was amazing - like the castle at inuyama it's one of only four castles in japan that have been preserved in their original state, and not a concrete replica. but himeji castle is about ten times bigger than inuyama castle (or so it felt like). very awe inspiring.
nara-koen was another highlight. it was filled with massive, ancient trees and herds of (apparently sacred) deer, which terrorised countless unsuspecting tourists silly enough to have food in their hands, much to my amusement.
of all the temples in kyoto, my favourite was shoren-in. while it lacked the grandiose buildings, magnificent paintings or exquisite gardens that featured in some of the others, it didnt have hordes of tourists armed with cameras led by a microphone-wielding guide holding a little flag. it was modest but peaceful, with big, old trees and quiet, humble alters.
from hiroshima we caught the ferry out to miyajima to see the famous floating torii of itsukushima shrine. that was nice but not in itself particularly memorable. what was memorable was the two-hour hike we did to the top of mt misen. the trail was wonderful (but exhuasting) and the view from the top was fantastic.
but, you know what? the best part about the last two weeks has been spending time with mum. (yes, i know that is a nauseating-ly warm fuzzy admission to make)
No comments:
Post a Comment