2geonomads

Day 2 – 28th March 2017
Kyoto/Nara
Awaken to a bright sunny day with the expected high for the day 15 degrees.
Superb buffet breakfast at the hotel and then it’s off at 9.00am by coach to the Kinkakuji Temple and its most famous feature, the Golden Pavilion. The main hall, covered in magnificent gold leaf and overlooking a very picturesque reflecting pool, is truly spectacular. It is of course a victim of its own appeal and even at this relatively early time of day the hordes are already here. With the impending arrival of the celebrated spring cherry blossom the words ‘peace’ and ‘tranquility’ will cease to be synonymous with this beautiful location.

  
For those history buffs out there the original temple was built in 1397 but in 1950 a young monk decided to show his passion for the temple by burning it to the ground. A full reconstruction staying true to the original design was completed in 1955.
Our next port of call is the Nijo Castle built in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu. The style of the main palace was clearly designed to demonstrate the prestige and power of the shogun and to underline the demise of the emperor’s power.

Over 400 years later visitors are still being put in their subservient place by being obliged to remove their shoes before setting foot within these hallowed walls. One member of our group was apparently forced to borrow a pair of his wife’s socks as his own had a hole in them! ( don’t forget that we had still not received our suitcases from Tokyo and supplies of socks were, therefore, rather limited.)

Ieyasu was clearly paranoid about the dangers he faced and to safeguard against any treachery he installed in the palace ‘ nightingale floors’ which as the name implies produce the call of a nightingale due to the mixture of wood and metal in their manufacture whenever people tread on them. An ingenious if rudimentary early alarm system!

Before setting off on the drive south to Nara (incidentally the birthplace of our guide Chiaki) we stop at a convenience store to stock up on some lunchtime snacks. The store has a fairly impressive range from which to choose and even the coffee is quite acceptable, notwithstanding the fact that the machine, initially at least, seems in dire need of a good urologist.

We finish off the day with a visit to one of the nation’s most visited sites, the Todaiji temple which houses the Daibutsu ( Great Buddha ), one of the largest bronze figures in the world. Originally cast in 746 and later recast during the Edo period the present statue stands just over 16 metres high and contains 437 tonnes of bronze and 130 kgs of gold.

The sheer immensity of the statue makes for an awe-inspiring sight especially as it is housed in the Daibutsu- den Hall which is one of the largest wooden buildings on earth. It’s perhaps a trifle churlish to mention that the cost of construction of the temple brought the country to the edge of bankruptcy.

With some time to spare before returning to our coach we take a pleasant stroll through the Nara Deer Park although we resist the temptation to spend 150 yen on biscuits to feed to the roaming ,and in some cases ,rather scrawny animals.

Rounding off a very rewarding and enjoyable day most of the group get together for a meal at Donguri , a traditional Japanese restaurant specialising in savoury pancakes. Delicious food at less than $20 a head.

Cheers
The Obese Ferret.