Kyoto to Date

We left Tokyo on Monday morning via the Shinkansen (bullet train) to head to Kyoto.  We got here at lunch time and Paul and I watched the accumulated luggage while the group went off to eat.  We are staying at a ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn) where everyone sleeps on a futon on the ground.  Surprisingly, these beds are quite comfortable, and the way the room is made up makes them appear that much larger.

To date, we have been to two incredible temples and a zen garden.  The first temple we visited is called the golden temple because the outside has been covered in gold foil.  It is situated right on the water and would be an amazing place to live.  The second temple is one Paul and I visited this morning.  It is at the top of a steep hill and is built into a mountain side with wooden scaffolding supporting a good portion of the main building.  The zen garden we visited was part of a larger complex of buildings, and is one of the most famous zen gardens in Japan.  It is amazing how simple the garden is in concept, but how powerful the effect is.  The garden is about 75 feet long by 30 feet wide, and it is 15 boulders that have jutted out of the ground to a greater or lesser degree surrounded by white rocks that have been raked to provide uniformity.

Both of these temples and the zen garden have not only been amazing to look at, but they are truly peaceful places where (when you are not surrounded by hundreds or thousands of Japanese students) you can find little places to sit down, observe nature, and think.  What amazes me about all of the places we have visited in Kyoto is how in tune with nature the grounds are.  There has been a conscious effort at each of these places to have the buildings fit within the landscape rather than stand apart from the surrounding scenery.

In addition to the sights, we have had a couple of very noteworthy meals.  The first was conveyor belt sushi.  This type of sushi service is almost fully automated and the restaurant creates plates (each 100 yen or about $1.20) with various pieces of sushi and anyone can take them as they come around.  The second particularly noteworth meal was Tempura.  Paul, Keiko, Tony and I had tempura coated shrimp, pumpkin, eel, corn and many more pieces and all of the food was cooked right in front of us.  In spite of its cost ($75 with a beer and some sake), it was an amazing meal and certainly an experience.

Tomorrow all but Paul and Keiko leave for home.  We fly out at about 6pm local time and fly through Seattle and Detroit before arriving in Bangor.  While our time here has been incredible, I know I am not alone in wanting to get back to friends and family after 12 days away from home.

I will post one more post once I get back to give you my final impressions.