In case you haven't caught on - its been uncomfortably cold most of our stay in Japan. But it doesn't stop us from seeing as much as we can. We have about 1/2 day left in Kyoto before we take our last Shinkansen train to Osaka early this afternoon. Our plan is to go to Nijo Castle before we have to check out of our hotel at 12 noon. A couple of subway stops later we are at the castle. The castle entrance is just around the corner. Oops - Construction - so we have to walk 1 3/4 long blocks longer to actually get in.
The gate where we should have entered the castle complex. Cute construction guys! None of the guys working there looked remotely like this!
A long wall of one of the main buildings. Across from it is a non-descript building that housed all the actual treasures - of course it is closed.
The gates and entrances to the buildings are quite beautiful. You can't take photos inside any of the buildings. I'm not sure why as all the paintings inside are replicas. All the actual art was in the building I mentioned earlier that was closed. The building itself is authentic. The wooden floor boards squeak and sound something like bird sounds. You do have to take your shoes off - there is no heat. Trust me - we did not dawdle looking at fake paintings!
There are a couple of gardens in the castle area. Of course there are plum trees and cherry trees. The plum are the ones in blossom. Gardens are the one thing that H and I agree are beautiful and would warrant another trip to Japan. Maybe a tourist train, Japanese garden trip in May or September!
Again, the garden pictures are great. I liked the entrance one with the trees to the left.Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteyes the gardens look amazing! Shame you weren't able to get in but you got so much else ticked off your list.
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