Day 8 Touring: Kyoto & Nagoya, sunny, windy, 10

Lunch In Nagoya

Our last day in Kyoto before moving on tomorrow. So lots to fit in without feeling too rushed. Grabbed a pastry to go on our way through the Station, so bad start...too rushed! Jumped the train to the south end of the city to see the Fushimi Inari Shrine, and decided to climb first up the path of gates to get ahead of the crowds. Pretty rushed, but no choice...good decision though:) 

 

 

The path is pretty cool. First of all it's free...pretty rare in Japan, but appreciated. The gates have each been sponsored by families, business and individuals.

 

There are literally hundreds of these bright orange gates. Very cool to walk through! A tunnel of orange if you like. 

 

 

 

You get the idea. The gates grew in size as we climbed. A few other pictures from the Shrine. This one from well up the climb.

 

These from the base at the Shrine site.

 

 

It was then back onto the train...this was a little rushed, but worth it as otherwise we would have missed the experience. We have tried very hard to take in each place we have visited and to give the experience the time it deserves. Sometimes though you just have to rush through a site, and we reluctantly did so on this occasion. 

We jumped off the return train and walked all the way to Toki Temple where we had been told that one should obtain the first stamp for the Shikoku Ohenro. We didn't have time to visit the temple, but the 5 level pagoda seemed marvellous! 

 

 

This neat experience behind us, we again rushed back to the humongous train station to pick up the Bullit train to Nagoya where we were to meet Sonomi who had invited us for lunch at her sister's house. Looks like fresh snow up high! I hope it's gone by next Saturday on the first climb!

 

We left the train and caught the metro through Nagoya, the third largest city in Japan (they're all big!) and met Sonomi as planned. We then metroed to our lunch gathering. Sonomi's niece, a new born, has just been through two heart surgeries and will go through a third and hopefully last within the year. Very nice kids.

 

A family friend joined us with her daughter and we had a lovely lunch complete with chilled barley tea which was really nice. I've written this to remind me at home! Lunch was wonderful and just perfect! Takomaki is the name for this dish. Yum! The lunch was prepared with great care and we felt very specially treated when we left. 

 

Dessert included the biggest strawberries (typically given as gifts) and very interesting rice dough covered ice cream which was great! It was a real surprise for us...the ice cream.

 

Your sort of meal Rob. Just add a beer! Then Sonomi and her friend took us to The Tokugawa Art Museum to see a special exhibit about the family of the Tokugawa Shogunate family. The family ruled Edo (now Tokyo) from 1542 for 265 peaceful years. The Tokugawa Shogun was one of the most powerful and successful in Japan and in that way earned the right to rule.  The exhibits illustrating the possessions of his young wife and the life of a Samurai was excellent, and the doll collection and the small every day life items that supported the dolls was exceptional. Such detail. It was a really good exhibit, but unfortunately cameras were not allowed. However, we did meet a couple preparing for their wedding and they permitted me to take a photo then asked if we could be photographed with them. I guess they saw my work from Erin and Seth's wedding and wanted me to take over!  

 And later, the wedding ceremony.

 

Actually we just thought they were out having photos done. We had no idea that this was their wedding day as well! Or I'd have shaved:)

I write this as we dash back on the high speed train to Kyoto. I'm getting pretty good at doing this on the fly and on the trains if I do say so myself. We will get in late, find dinner and then walk back to our hotel and do our laundry:(  

Tomorrow we head off to Hiroshima with an interesting stop along the way. Should arrive there late tomorrow afternoon, so I guess I'll have to blog on the fly tomorrow. Ah, the life of the traveller. Wouldn't have it any other way!