Thanks to the overnight rain, our next day in Kyoto would be blessed with excellent weather. Our accommodations included a lavish continental breakfast spread, a mix of western and eastern breakfast foods. After enjoying a hearty breakfast, we met our guide for the day, Mr. Takeshi Suzuki. As the day went on, we learned Mr. Suzuki was a former English teacher and had many years of experience under his belt. After discussing the various places we wanted to see today, we hailed a cab and set out on our adventures.
The first stop of the day: the Imperial Palace grounds in downtown Kyoto. Upon arrival, we had to apply for a permit, as only the first 100 guests can attend one of the few daily tours of the grounds. As we met up with our tour group, we wandered throughout the southern part of the grounds, and got to see much of the restored archictecture, as some of the older buildings had been destroyed by fire and rebuild (other buildings had been actually removed from the grounds).
Next up, we would grab a taxi to Nijo Castle. This castle was a residence used by the Shogun in feudal Japan, both as living quarters and as a place to meet guests to conduct business. The exterior gate was being renovated, and is expected to be completed in a few years.
From Nijo Castle, we would walk to the Golden Temple, a Buddhist temple built by the Shogun. We learned quite a few interesting details about the grounds and what would transpire there.
In very short order, it was time for lunch. We walked a few blocks from the temple and found a good noodle shop. While awaiting our order, we were seated next to a group of middle school students. They seemed unusually excited to be seated next to foreigners, and in a few moments we learned why. Apparently, they had an assignment to practice their English and ask foreigners some questions. We were only too happy to oblige them! In return, Ramona also asked them a few questions and introduced herself in Japanese (with some timely corrections from Mr. Suzuki!). To end our time with our excited students, Ramona gave them her business card. They genuinely seemed to treasure the card as they thanked us as they left.
With a good lunch behind us, we were once again on our walk. This time, we would cut through the grounds of Ritsumekan University, a private university in Kyoto. We hadn't seen much of the college system in Japan and this was a good opportunity for us. The buildings didn't seem very different from the college campuses we were familiar with, right down to the comically messy professor's office we peeked into.
Exiting campus, we continued on our way to another nearby shrine. This was another Buddhist temple, famous for its zen rock garden. After discarding our shoes at the door, we walked to the perimeter of the garden. The stones were arranged in a particular pattern of significance to the Buddhist faith. To us, the challenge was to view all 15 stones in the garden at once. Unfortunately, one stone was always obscured by another. Suzuki-san indicated the lesson was "to strive for perfection, but know that perfection was unobtainable".
From the temple, we caught a train to the West of Kyoto and headed for the Bamboo grove. This was an area adjacent to temple, set aside for growing Bamboo. And grow it did! The Bamboo stalks here grew well over 15m high. Suzuki-san told us that new Bamboo grow to over 12 feet in less than six months! At the end of the grove, we circled back to an outdoor shopping mall strip, across from the train station. We ended our day with Mr. Suzuki, getting a few details for the locations we would visit tomorrow.
Through the wonders of Facebook, Karl had stayed in touch with friends from his Japanese class at Eastern Michigan University. One of his friends, Danielle Alexander, had moved to Japan after college, and was teaching at a school between Kyoto and Osaka. As luck would have it, she finished her work day early and was available to meet us! We took the train back to Kyoto Station, looking to meet Dani in the central atrium. Sure enough, we met her soon after reaching the atrium.
We chatted and caught up on things as we exited the station. Across the street, the Kyoto Tower and it's 360-degree view of Kyoto beckoned. Atop the tower, we talked as Dani pointed out many of the sights of downtown Kyoto. In the clear light of the evening, we could see all the way to the mountain ranges and snapped pictures of many of the sights we wouldn't have time to see.
After leaving the tower, we crisscrossed the adjacent streets, in search of dinner. We happened across a restaurant with a large grill for cooking okonomiyaki, a savory Japanese pancake/omelette, filled with all kinds of awesome things. Grabbing a seat at the grill, Dani quickly ordered for us in Japanese. After living here for nearly a decade, her Japanese was more than up to the task. Dani filled us in her upcoming wedding plans, the house she and her fiance had bought, and many details about her upcoming trips. As the last of the okonomiyaki was eaten, it was time to find a place for dessert!
Heading back to Kyoto Station, we knew the fashionable food merchants in the basement would have awesome desserts for us. Karl chose a strawberry shortcake and Dani chose a Japanese green tea cake. As we had discovered consistenly across Japan, finding a place to sit nearby was next to impossible. Dani suggested we try the roof. Sure enough, we found a place there to sit and enjoy our desserts.
The hours seem to fly by. Before too long, it was time to share our goodbyes and put Dani on a train for home. Unlike us, she had to actually work in the morning! As she disappeared through the subway gates for her train, we set our sights on our hotel - and bed.
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