The ryoshin

The last 10 days of October saw the visit of Basia and George (ryoshin = 両親 = parents). Their visit was, to me, much more than a regular touristy visit, but in these 10 days they did many of the 'must see' sights in Kyoto. So this post will serve as a slightly annotated and personalized list along these lines. Some of the pictures here were taken by me, some by them.

Friday: arriving
Somewhat tired and jet-lagged, but generally in one piece from YYJ via YVR to KIX and thence Kyoto.


Saturday: the temples of Higashiyama
Coming by train from Shugakuin, we walked Gion, Yasaka Shrine, and then onto Kiymizu Dera. On the way back we strolled through the burial grounds west of Kiyomizu, admiring the gravestone family crests and commenting on how different cultures bury their dead. The Japanese seem to be very space-efficient, opting for vertical gravestones.

The view of Kyoto from Kiyomizu Dera. We were blessed with particularly beautiful weather and clear air.

Sunday: Jidai Matsuri and the Kurama Fire Festival
An intense day of two festivals. Appropriately, we watched the Jidai Maturi (Festival of the Ages) procession as it crossed Sanjo Bashi. Appropriately, because the Sanjo (Third Street) Bridge was, historically, the Kyoto end-point of the Tokaido road that connected the Imperial capital with the Shogunal one and was thereby the principal communication artery of ancient Japan.

While similar in some ways to Aoi Matsuri, Jidai Matsuri involves costumes of many epochs, not just the Heian period

"The wife of someone important."
And in the background, the continuing flow of history represented by the Sanjo Bashi Starbucks.

In the evening it was off on a very packed train to a very packed Kurama to try to catch some of the Hi Matsuri (Fire Festival). We beat a hasty retreat, though, upon considering the prospect of the post-festival line-up for the tiny Eizan line train...

Ted, Miki, Hideyo, and Basia, straining to see over the Kurama crowds.

Kurama Hi Matsuri

Monday: Rainy rest day

Marcin goes to work, while the ryoshin take it easy, work on getting over the jet lag, and go for a short stroll to the University of Art and Design.

Kyoto University of Art and Design. Where Marcin attended taiko classes in the spring

Tuesday: Imperial Palace Gardens
Marcin goes to work again. The ryoshin leg it to the Imperial Palace gardens



Wednesday: Imperial Palace, Gingakuji, dinner with Ted & Miki
After the ryoshin do a guided tour of the Imperial Palace, we meet up for a brief tour of Ginkakuji and then dinner. Mmmm... Thai food.

Ginkakuji gardens

And another clear day with great views of the city. This time from Ginkakuji

Thursday: Arashiyama
Arashiyama (see previous post here) is a semi-rural area famous for its scenery and temples. Once again, we were blessed with splendid autumn weather and air clear enough to see Mount Hiei on the other side of the Kyoto valley. We hiked the hills, we walked the paths, we strolled the temple gardens.

The Katsura-gawa gorge

View towards Kyoto and Higashiyama (Eastern Mountains) in the background

An Arashiyama temple

and an Arashiyama temple cat

Friady: Nara
The ryoshin brave the railways (including three transfers!) on their own and go to Nara, Japan's capital before Kyoto became the seat of goverment. Nara is famous for its splendid temples and sacred but greedy deer. The deer, normally fed special-bought cookies, discover that banana peels make good eating.

Mmm... banana peel!

Saturday: Nijo Castle
Saturday is Nijo-jo day. Nijo Castle was build by the Tokugawa Shogunate as the official Shogunal residence for visits to Kyoto. It was built to impress and that it does.

The inner moat. Yes, there is also an outer moat.

Residences inside the castle

Mob bosses (or are they politicians?) and their muscle out sightseeing

Sunday: Hiei-zan
Sunday saw us hiking on Mount Hiyei. At 800 metres high, Hiei-zan is the tallest mountain in the immediate vicinity of Kyoto. It is also the first home of the Tendai sect of Buddhism, and so a highly significant cultural and historical asset. Even today there are over 300 temple buildings on Hiei-zan and we temple hopped till we dropped. Or at least until it looked like it will start getting dark soon.

A view of Lake Biwa to the south-east...

...and mountains to the north.

Then it was back to downtown for a bite to eat and a last, night-time look at some illuminated temples in Higashiyama.



Monday: going home
And then, already, it was time to say goodbye...

The ryoshin

The last 10 days of October saw the visit of Basia and George (ryoshin = 両親 = parents). Their visit was, to me, much more than a regular touristy visit, but in these 10 days they did many of the 'must see' sights in Kyoto. So this post will serve as a slightly annotated and personalized list along these lines. Some of the pictures here were taken by me, some by them.

Friday: arriving
Somewhat tired and jet-lagged, but generally in one piece from YYJ via YVR to KIX and thence Kyoto.


Saturday: the temples of Higashiyama
Coming by train from Shugakuin, we walked Gion, Yasaka Shrine, and then onto Kiymizu Dera. On the way back we strolled through the burial grounds west of Kiyomizu, admiring the gravestone family crests and commenting on how different cultures bury their dead. The Japanese seem to be very space-efficient, opting for vertical gravestones.

The view of Kyoto from Kiyomizu Dera. We were blessed with particularly beautiful weather and clear air.

Sunday: Jidai Matsuri and the Kurama Fire Festival
An intense day of two festivals. Appropriately, we watched the Jidai Maturi (Festival of the Ages) procession as it crossed Sanjo Bashi. Appropriately, because the Sanjo (Third Street) Bridge was, historically, the Kyoto end-point of the Tokaido road that connected the Imperial capital with the Shogunal one and was thereby the principal communication artery of ancient Japan.

While similar in some ways to Aoi Matsuri, Jidai Matsuri involves costumes of many epochs, not just the Heian period

"The wife of someone important."
And in the background, the continuing flow of history represented by the Sanjo Bashi Starbucks.

In the evening it was off on a very packed train to a very packed Kurama to try to catch some of the Hi Matsuri (Fire Festival). We beat a hasty retreat, though, upon considering the prospect of the post-festival line-up for the tiny Eizan line train...

Ted, Miki, Hideyo, and Basia, straining to see over the Kurama crowds.

Kurama Hi Matsuri

Monday: Rainy rest day

Marcin goes to work, while the ryoshin take it easy, work on getting over the jet lag, and go for a short stroll to the University of Art and Design.

Kyoto University of Art and Design. Where Marcin attended taiko classes in the spring

Tuesday: Imperial Palace Gardens
Marcin goes to work again. The ryoshin leg it to the Imperial Palace gardens



Wednesday: Imperial Palace, Gingakuji, dinner with Ted & Miki
After the ryoshin do a guided tour of the Imperial Palace, we meet up for a brief tour of Ginkakuji and then dinner. Mmmm... Thai food.

Ginkakuji gardens

And another clear day with great views of the city. This time from Ginkakuji

Thursday: Arashiyama
Arashiyama (see previous post here) is a semi-rural area famous for its scenery and temples. Once again, we were blessed with splendid autumn weather and air clear enough to see Mount Hiei on the other side of the Kyoto valley. We hiked the hills, we walked the paths, we strolled the temple gardens.

The Katsura-gawa gorge

View towards Kyoto and Higashiyama (Eastern Mountains) in the background

An Arashiyama temple

and an Arashiyama temple cat

Friady: Nara
The ryoshin brave the railways (including three transfers!) on their own and go to Nara, Japan's capital before Kyoto became the seat of goverment. Nara is famous for its splendid temples and sacred but greedy deer. The deer, normally fed special-bought cookies, discover that banana peels make good eating.

Mmm... banana peel!

Saturday: Nijo Castle
Saturday is Nijo-jo day. Nijo Castle was build by the Tokugawa Shogunate as the official Shogunal residence for visits to Kyoto. It was built to impress and that it does.

The inner moat. Yes, there is also an outer moat.

Residences inside the castle

Mob bosses (or are they politicians?) and their muscle out sightseeing

Sunday: Hiei-zan
Sunday saw us hiking on Mount Hiyei. At 800 metres high, Hiei-zan is the tallest mountain in the immediate vicinity of Kyoto. It is also the first home of the Tendai sect of Buddhism, and so a highly significant cultural and historical asset. Even today there are over 300 temple buildings on Hiei-zan and we temple hopped till we dropped. Or at least until it looked like it will start getting dark soon.

A view of Lake Biwa to the south-east...

...and mountains to the north.

Then it was back to downtown for a bite to eat and a last, night-time look at some illuminated temples in Higashiyama.



Monday: going home
And then, already, it was time to say goodbye...