Japan Photos 12

Next to Otanihonbyo is the grounds of the Kiyomizu-dera, one of the more popular Buddhist temples in Kyoto to visit.
The colorful deva gate.
Many of the buildings were colorful, particularly when the sun peeked through the clouds.
More women it traditional clothing.
The temple bell in the bell tower.
The Koyasu Pagoda, rebuilt in 1633. It is said that visiting the pagoda has some sort of good luck for an safe childbirth. I don't recall seeing any preggos.
For some reason we did not go far enough back to get to the actual temple. I don't know why. But if you've seen one temple you've kind of seen them all. But still, it's kind of a famous one.
Back downhill we wandered through some narrow streets lined with shops.
Looks like Japan, doesn't it? This is the Higashiyama District, one of Kyoto's best preserved historic districts.
I think most people around were tourists.
I wonder if these women dress like this all the time or just on certain occasions. That's the Yasaka Pagoda, the last remnant of the Hokanji Temple.
These two guys were standing in front of this pagoda with a fair amount of press around. My guess is that one of them was a politician. It did seem to be election time over there.
Another block, another temple. This would be the Kennin-ji a Zen Buddhist temple.
This could be one of the gates to Kennin-ji or something else completely. I really don't know. All of these things start to look the same after a while.
I'm just going to tell you what the sign said about the Ebisu Shrine. Three Shinto deities, "Kotoshironushi-no-kami", "Sukunahiko-no-kami" and "Okuninushi-no-kami" are enshrined within. According to the shrine's history, because of a storm at sea, Zen Priest "Eisai" almost met with disaster on his way back to Japan from Sung (China) in 1911, when the deity "Ebisu" appeared to him and helped him escape a shipwreck. So when he established "Kennin-ji temple" in 1202, he first enshrined "Ebisu" within its precincts for the protection of the temple.
Don't know who this guy is but he looks a little cross.
After a trip on the Kyoto subway, we arrived at the Nijo Castle.
The entry gate is quite ornate.
Birds and butterflies and lots of gold.
There's a nice garden next to the Ninomaru Palace.
Castles in Japan look different than castles in Europe. The European ones made of stone seem like they would last longer.
Of course there are some stone walls here.
I mean really, they must have had a strict no smoking policy in these buildings. It is true that some of the buildings burned a couple of times.
The sign says that this is the Kitanakasikirimon Gate. That's an awfully long name for a gate.
I don't remember a sign saying what this little building is. I don't think it's too old though.
I figured Karen and I would probably not want to negotiate Japanese food for dinner, so I found there was a MOS Burger near the train station close to Nijo Castle.
There was an English menu that the cashier gave us, which is more help than I got the last time I ate at one of these places. I got a teriyaki double burger. I know it's hard to see the meat under all of that lettuce.
Another JR line meant we were covered with our rail passes. Will all of the local travel on JR lines in Tokyo and Kyoto as well as on the shinkansen, those rail passes more than paid for themselves.
Looks like menorah on that sign. Are there many (or any) Jews in Kyoto?
There's another pachinko and slot machine hall. The pachinko areas aren't so bad, but the floors with the slot machines are deafening.
Glad the train is arriving. It is the coldest day of the trip. There was a little frozen precipitation falling a little earlier while we were at the castle.
A normal looking commuter train.
We checked in at the ryokan, leaving our shoes at the door, and got to our room. There were things like this decorating the hall.
I don't know why I felt it was important to take a picture of the door to the room, but anyway here it is.
Here is the bedroom. Rather traditional Japanese with futons on the floor. It was kind of neat staying here instead of a regular Western-style hotel.
The shower and tub are in the same little room. The shower is outside of the tub.
Again, the toilet is in its own little room. There are slippers that are to be worn in the toilet room.

TO HIROSHIMA