Kyoto (1), Japan 🇯🇵 2024

Date: 22nd October 2024

Travelled: Nagoya to Kyoto  

Visited: Iga-Ryun Ninja Museum, Nijo Castle, Sanjusangen-do and the Goin 

Stayed: Vessel Hotel, Kyoto  

Budget: 21 days @ $XX per day

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We escape the hotel at Nagoya and make for the morning traffic. Our first stop to is Iga and the Iga-ryu Ninja Museum. The museum is within the park grounds of the what was once a castle.

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You may remember the Japanese TV series, The Samurai starring Shintaro and Tombei. Well I do and most of us on the bus did as well. The museum is a hoot and the guide dressed as a Ninja entertained us all with his antics in the Ninja House I will try and stitch a couple of videos.

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From Iga we continue on to Kyoto firstly to our hotel, then staying on the bus for an optional 1/2 day tour of Kyoto. The hotel is in a great spot near the railway station, so it’s very central.

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Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

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Our next stop is Kyoto’s Nijo Castle. It stands on 68 acres, has extensive fortification including a moat, it dates to 1601. The garden and ground are its best feature, the building were closed during our visit. The gate and some pictures of the grounds follow.

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Our next stop is Sanjusangen-do. This Buddhist Temple dates to 1164 but it is most famous for its main hall of a 1001 life size standing Kannon. Each carved from wood but covered in gold leaves. The are also 28 quite frightening looking deities guarding the main statue of Sanjusangen. It’s immense it’s amazing but no photos are allowed.

It’s up there with the most amazing things we’ve seen. The gardens are special as well.

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Our last stop for the afternoon which is rapidly becoming the evening is the Gion. Famous for its Geisha and being the entertainment district. It’s only a few kilometres across the river to the Gion, but the bus struggles in the traffic.

Eventually we escape the bus and walk of into a sea of people, not really our sort of thing but we’re carried with the tide.

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The highlight of the Gion in our opinion was the Black Pagoda. We had only commented yesterday we had not seen a pagoda and here one is.

Up close I couldn’t get a good photo and it was obviously getting darker by the minute.

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Back in the bus we are in the hotel 20 minutes later. Kyoto is really buzzing tonight. We walk to a local takeaway for dinner after a long day.

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Michael + Pam