Returning to Kyoto presents a bit of a challenge when it comes to which of the 1000+ shrines and temples or other sites to choose to visit. One can revisit the top attractions — but this is risky: maybe they won’t live up their remembered glory, or maybe it will mean missing out on some undiscovered gems. For this reason we set about an itinerary incorporating some new destinations. First up was Nijo-jo castle, roughly in the middle of Kyoto — a planned city laid out in a sprawling grid. We squeezed on a bus and beat the crowds to this historic place. The castle is heavily fortified with moats and thick walls but lacking a keep due to fire damage. It was used as more of a palace, and saw the rise and fall of the Tokugawa shogunate: Ieyasu Tokugawa declared the supremacy of his family there in 1600, and Yoshinobu Tokugawa surrendered it in 1868 when power was handed back to the Emperor.
We had a look around the reception rooms in the castle, which featured beautifully decorated shoji screens covered in gold leaf and painted with tigers. These were intended to intimidate the lords who visited, to encourage them to recognise Ieyasu’s power. No photography allowed unfortunately! The rooms also feature squeaky floorboards called a ‘nightingale floor’. The signs at the castle claimed this is an unintended consequence of the building materials used: although other sources claim it is a type of intruder alarm!
Next up was the Imperial Palace, which was large and staffed by very stern looking security men. The gardens still had a few blossoming cherry trees, although the warm weather has meant we missed the best of the sakura! We took another bus up to the temple complex of Daitoku-ji, where certain temples were available to visit for a few weeks only (out of the whole year).
Somehow we today managed to trudge around the city for over 15 miles or 33000+ steps (a personal best for us!). But at this point we still felt a slight sense of dissatisfaction with the morning. The weather was either too hot or too cold; the buses were crowded; the traffic lights changed too slowly. Over a bowl of noodles (spot the large slab of inari or soy bean curd), we decided we needed to go back to our tried and tested favourite places. 4 star or even 4.5 star attractions simply would not cut it — we were finding fault in ostensibly beautiful temples and needed the full fat, five out of five experience of a UNESCO treasure. So we hopped in a taxi and crossed the city to the eastern hills!
The Geos go back to Tokyo 