Saturday's adventure

We started today with a search for a 7-11 convenience store to withdraw some cash. It didn't seem to be where we expected it to be, so we went into a Lawson's convenience store to ask. To my great delight, the shopkeeper understood my question which I asked in Japanese – but unfortunately, he didn't know the answer (or possibly he did, but wasn't going to tell me). We decided to head for Kyoto and find one when we got there and just as we got going on the main road, there was the 7-11! All cashed up, we headed (or attempted to head) for Kyoto.
The next part of the journey was quite something! We managed to take a wrong turn on the road to Kyoto and found ourselves heading back to Otsu. That would generally have been an 'oh well' experience, but it turned out to be very scarey for John as he was wearing his dark sunglasses and our wrong road took us through a long tunnel. I thought it was great, but John told me afterwards that he couldn't see a thing as we passed through the tunnel, except the lights of the car in front of him. He was quite spooked by the experience.
Anyway, after another lap of Otsu, we got on our way again and this time made it to Kyoto. We started with the Imperial Palace. After we parked the scooters we went in to the cafe/restaurant and had a bowl of rice with vegetables and a cup of tea. It turned out that to visit the Palace, a pre-arranged ticket is necessary (obtained by applying to the Imperial Household!), so we were not able to go in, but we enjoyed walking around the park admiring the park and the Palace surroundings, as well as doing some more people-watching, which has been an interesting every-day activity.





One of the gateways to the Imperial Palace, with a very thick thatched roof.














We then took the subway to Nijo Castle which is a 407 year old World Heritage Site. Before touring the castle, we visited the adjacent Japanese garden which provided some good photo opportunities.





After leaving the garden, we passed by a restaurant just as a wedding party was leaving. The bride looked absolutely stunning in a bright red 'meringue' style wedding dress, and several guests were dressed in black kimonos with gold trimming. Unfortunately, we were unable to get a photo of the bride as she bypassed the place we were standing, but it was another one of those 'wow' moments that we'll remember. We then made our way to the Nijo Castle.



The castle complex consists of the Ninomaru Palace, which features wall paintings in each of the 33 rooms and has over 800 tatami mats covering the floors, as well as the Honmaru Palace which is surrounded by a moat. The entire complex is then surrounded by another large moat.









We toured the Ninomaru Palace and were amazed by the beautiful ceiling paintings, wood carvings above the sliding doors and the detailed metal fixtures. The corridors of the Palace are 'Nightingale Floors' which are designed to produce a musical squeak when trodden on, to prevent any unwanted intruders from sneaking in. After touring the Palace, we went into another building where a woman and two girls were playing traditional Japanese stringed instruments. They looked gorgeous in their colourful kimonos.




During the day we saw a number of young women dressed in beautiful kimonos. They look absolutely stunning and very graciously allowed us to photograph them.








We were quite tired by the end of the Palace visit, so made our way to the Youth Hostel, which was the only accommodation we had been able to find in Kyoto on a Saturday night during cherry blossom time. We attempted to find something for dinner, but we were tired, hungry and very cold, so we ended up in McDonald's. I'm so ashamed, but no longer hungry and cold. When we left Macca's we saw a group of 3 or 4 Harley-style motorcycles which had been festooned with blue pencil-thin fluorescent tubular lights, curved to follow the lines of the bikes' body-work (the kind of lighting that we usually see on advertising signs). Yet another 'wow' moment!



As I write, John has gone to share a bath with the other male residents of the hostel. I haven't heard anyone screaming or laughing yet, but the Japanese are known for their politeness.


Stop press: I just went and visited the communal baths, too. Sharing a bath with people you've never met bofore is an interesting experience, but, hey, when in Japan...!