Nightingale floors and metallic pavilions

We only had 2 nights in Kyoto and we didn’t want to waste our time there! We had 3 sights to see which had been personally handpicked by our friend Mari-chan, and we decided to add one more which the other people staying at the Ryokan had raved about.

Firstly we grabbed our Kyoto Bus day passes from the hostel. These were really useful, as we often got on the wrong bus and had to switch after only 1 stop! Then we headed in the direction of Nijo-Jo Castle.

I really liked the Shogun’s Castle. It had a beautiful garden and sweet nightingale floors which were fun to squeak along. I wish we could have taken photos inside, because the paintings on the walls are beautiful! It was here that I first realized that you could get a Hello Kitty exclusive key chain for every monument you visit. Awesome.

Next we went to the golden pavilion temple, Kinkaku-ji. The way it reflected in the lake was really beautiful, and the whole complex was fun to walk around, although, there were a lot of tourists as can be expected. We lit candles and incense and rang the bell at the temple, and prayed for our loved ones to be happy, healthy and safe. I hadn’t managed to go to a temple in Thailand, so I also prayed for my wonderful workmate’s family, and her husband and son who have recently passed away.

Our final stop on the day was to the silver pavilion temple, Ginkaku-ji, it was recommended by fellow Ryokan stayers for having the most beautiful garden. The pavilion is modeled off of the gold one, but the setting seems quite different. It is really lush and green, and it felt like whatever direction you placed your camera it would come out with a good shot. Even though there were a lot of other people there, it felt really relaxing and serene. I think it was Mingaling’s favorite site we visited. We bought some cool souvenirs around here, had some shaved ice, and also walked along the Philosopher’s path.. The path was okaaay, but the other Ryokan stayers had kinda built it up, maybe it was better during the day when they visited. Basically it was a nice walk next to a river/creek.