Entrance to Nijo Castle, imperial fortress and centre of power

Main halls where shotguns, emperors and senior officials received and ruled

As usual, shoes off inside - this time a young guard knelt to fut a cover over the Boot..

Wonderful traditional gardens, incorporating the wider world into the design

Inside, there a squeaky nightingale floors and golden panels with mighty tigers, pine trees, hawks

Omikuji - paper fortunes. If you don't like yours, you tie it up here to invalidate it

100 yen to know your future..I left mine tied up ..

Rico's was very good - love, money and electrical goods

Kyoto, imperial capital..

September 5 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

Kyoto, thousand-year capital, spiritual and cultural centre of Japan, storied and mythical, maybe a bit like ancient Rome - full of shrines and temples built by emperors and warlords, political dignitaries and nobility to honour their branch of Buddhism or Zen or Shinto, to be remembered for their own glory or part in history. The sun shine and we had more than 1, 200 temples and shrines to tackle..Nijo castle with its impressive grounds and meeting halls; the golden pavilion of Kinkaku-ju; Japan's most famous Zen rock garden at Ryoan-ji; the Arashimaya district like a village amongst the bamboo groves, temples, gardens and rice fields...Read more