Kyoto Pt 2: A Shrine and A Royal Park

This morning we had jobs to do: washing clothes, booking accommodations - here for an extra night on Friday; and Hiroshima for the three nights - and generally planning the next couple of days. Once we’d tidied up these tasks, our plan for our afternoon was decided.
1. We visited one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan called Shimogamo Shrine. The Shrine is one of a pair constructed in the sixth and seventh centuries. The vibe there was so different from yesterday’s Buddhist Temple. Very quiet, very neat and organised, and aesthetically very beautiful, this seemed more disciplined and less messily human. Monks in white clothing led tour groups or were just going about their business. A magic moment was catching sight of four young women in traditional dress going through one of the main gates.
2. After a lovely light lunch in one of the tiny idiosyncratic cafes that seem to abound in Kyoto, we walked on to the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden which surrounds the Imperial Palace. Now imperial power is always underscored by an assertion of spatial dominance, especially the frivolous use of lands that would otherwise be farmed or grazed. Such use of space emphasises separation, seclusion, and exclusion. Thus this 65-hectare national garden surrounds not one but two palaces each with blank walls. The most striking aspect to me was the lack of formal gardens so beloved in Europe, and the ways in which some sections seem to be left to fallow. A different aesthetic certainly.
It was a lovely afternoon. Tomorrow promises more delights!Read more