SATURDAY, 5 MAY 2018

CITY OF MANY TEMPLES/SHRINES

 

This morning our tour guide, Mitsuyuki, picked us up and took us to Kyoto, Japan's capital and the emperor's residence from 794 until 1868. The number one place we wanted to visit was Kiyomizu-dera Temple which is built on stilts. Unfortunately it is undergoing renovations, and Mitsuyuki assured us it would not be worth seeing.

Our first stop was Fushimi Inari Shrine, an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates.

The fox is the protector

Next was Sanjusangen-do Temple, which houses 1001 statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. Sadly no photography was allowed inside, so all the pictures of the interior are from the internet. 

Mitsuyuki took us to a Japanese restaurant for lunch before taking us to Nijo-jo Castle, built in 1603, where the Tokugawa family once lived. It housed many large rooms with beautiful painted panels. 

Kinkaku (Golden Pavilion) is a is a Zen temple whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf. It was the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. The public is not allowed inside, but the grounds were beautiful.

We thought Mitsuyuki said we were done visiting the sights, but he drove us up a hill into a neighborhood, parked the car in a small parking lot being guarded by an older lady, and led us further up the hill to see Ginkakuji Temple. The temple itself was not too exciting but the grounds were absolutely beautiful! 

After we left Kinkaku we stopped at a 7-11 for drinks and a small parade went by.

We had Mitsuyuki drop us off Dotonburi street. It was a bustling street with lots of restaurants and street vendors. We were able to find a nice place to have a nice dinner.

 

SUNDAY, 6 MAY 2018 

DIAMOND PRINCESS AKA LET THE GORGING BEGIN

This morning we got up, packed, walked to the train station for breakfast, then waited for the chauffeur to pick us up at noon, and take us to the pier. Jim and I have Platinum status with Princess which allows us Priority Boarding as well as any guests we are traveling with. There were very few people with priority boarding so getting on the ship was quick and easy.

The day’s highlights included the buffet lunch, ship’s muster drill, visiting the Future Cruise Sales desk and booking next year’s cruise (we had it planned out before we left and knew we would get a cheap deposit by waiting), unpacking, dinner, a boring show featuring a couple who did shadow puppets mixed with a little magic, and bed!

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