The Honen-in Temple was just a couple of blocks away...
footprints of Buddha.
back to the path...
a small shrine...
another small temple...
And our destination at the Heian Shrine. Built in 1895 on the occasion of the 1100th anniversary of the capital's foundation in Kyoto. Heian was the former name of Kyoto. The shrines main buildings are replicas of those in the original Imperial Palace.
Several huge tora gates throughout the area.
There was a wonderful garden with many weeping cherries...
unfortunately, most had bloomed and passed...lots of petals on the ground.
footprints of Buddha.
back to the path...
a small shrine...
another small temple...
And our destination at the Heian Shrine. Built in 1895 on the occasion of the 1100th anniversary of the capital's foundation in Kyoto. Heian was the former name of Kyoto. The shrines main buildings are replicas of those in the original Imperial Palace.
Several huge tora gates throughout the area.
There was a wonderful garden with many weeping cherries...unfortunately, most had bloomed and passed...lots of petals on the ground.
a few blooms on this tree by the pond...
and this handsome heron...
very little bird life outside of the
crows, ravens and sparrows.
and lots of turtles...
and another American. This gal was from Harvard
where she's in charge of the Poetry Library. She
was in Japan celebrating her 40th birthday.
Then across the street to the hotel to check in. Our room was small but the beds were VERY COMFY! After showers we headed back to the station to find a place to eat.
All the restaurants have these amazing displays of their food offerings...all plastic food but incredible realistic. We decided on this place for dinner. Turned out to be very good.
When we got back to the hotel the second floor wedding chapel was lighted. It's on an island in a pond with small fountains along three sides and then a waterfall on the right that falls down to the main floor. The doors were unlocked so we wandered over to have a look. Quite nice inside. But a piggies were ready for the bed so up we went and hit the hay. A grand first day in Kyoto!
and this handsome heron...very little bird life outside of the
crows, ravens and sparrows.
and lots of turtles...
and another American. This gal was from Harvardwhere she's in charge of the Poetry Library. She
was in Japan celebrating her 40th birthday.
After a lovely afternoon we headed back to the bus stop.
We decided to follow the escalators up to the very
top of the modern Kyoto Station. There are large department
stores and hundreds of small shops and restaurants.
We decided to follow the escalators up to the very
top of the modern Kyoto Station. There are large department
stores and hundreds of small shops and restaurants.
Then across the street to the hotel to check in. Our room was small but the beds were VERY COMFY! After showers we headed back to the station to find a place to eat.
When we got back to the hotel the second floor wedding chapel was lighted. It's on an island in a pond with small fountains along three sides and then a waterfall on the right that falls down to the main floor. The doors were unlocked so we wandered over to have a look. Quite nice inside. But a piggies were ready for the bed so up we went and hit the hay. A grand first day in Kyoto!
