March 17, 2013 Osaka, Japan 8:00a to 8:00p

Up at 5:30 this morning to get ready for our face to face meeting with immigration. Luckily, we got to set the clocks back 1 hour again last night. We had breakfast and then went out to the balcony to watch our sail in. There was a band playing for our ship as we arrived. They played Sukiyaki and then My Country Tis of Thee. There were some young kids cheerleading. Very nice touch!

 

We lined up at 7:30am this morning for immigration. They opened the doors at 8:00 and most of their equipment wasn’t working properly. We heard from others later that they did finally get them all working, but when we went through only a couple worked. The workers were laughing and trying to help each other out. They checked our passports and stamped them and put some other papers in them and then we had to put both index fingers on the machine and then did a retina scan where we looked into a mirror.

Our guide was waiting for us as we got off the ship. We were amongst the first ones to get off.

Today we have a tour with Tours By Locals to see Kyoto. http://www.toursbylocals.com/Kyoto-Tours

Our guide was Yoriko. She was fantastic! She helped us negotiate about 8 trains, cabs, subways and the bullet train between Osaka and Kyoto. We couldn’t have done it without her. It was a great way to see the sites and to experience how the locals live. Today we were joined by Rick & Janie and Marianne. (The Fab Five) It was a nice group and I think everyone had a great day. We had a beautiful sunny day with highs in the 60’s. (could have been way colder this time of year. Anyone not wanting a “big bus” experience of touring I would recommend having a small group like we did and seeing the sites more like a local.

We also walked quite a bit taking in a street of markets and street foods. It smelled so good it was hard not to eat our way from one end to the other.

We laughed as we were taking silly pictures of ourselves and each other on the trains. If you will permit me to be culturally insensitive, we joked we felt like Japanese tourists. (taking pictures of everything!)

 walking from the port to the train station

 Marianne

 Rick

 Janie, Marianne and our guide Yoriko

 that's a fashion statement

 waiting for the bullet train to arrive

 

inside the bullet train



One of the highlights of the day was seeing and hearing part of a Buddhist worship ceremony. You could hear them chanting throughout the tour and then we stopped to watch a bit of the ceremony. Very interesting. (no photos allowed)

The smell of incense was beautiful in all places we visited. Of course you must remove your shoes before entering.

The Japanese word for yes is “hai” (pronounced hi) So, it could get comical if they said “hai” and you thought they were saying “ hi” and you answered back “hi” and on and on.

Here is a more detailed description of our tour today:

We will go by Bullet Train (we went 125 miles per hour and the train was a very smooth ride) from Osaka to Kyoto and tour these sites:

Fushimi Inari Taisha (Shinto shrine with 1000 vermilion Torii gate)
Sanju-sangenndo Temple (A great hall of 1000 Buddhist statues)
Nijo Castle (Palace of Tokugawa Shogun)
Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavilion)

Kyoto has been capital of Japan for over 1000years since 794. The city is rich in history and culture. Please come and feel the time of court nobles and Shoguns. Why don't you feel the atmosphere of the Tokugawa Shogunate? In Nijo Castle, you can enter some of the palace buildings built in 17th century by Tokugawa Shogun. I am sure you will enjoy walking inside of the Samurai style buildings and admiring beautiful wall paintings and gorgeous interior of each chamber.

Fushimi-Inari Taisha

This stunning shrine complex was dedicated to the gods of rice and sake by the Hata family in the 8th century. As the role of agriculture diminished, deities were enrolled to ensure prosperity in business. Nowadays, the shrine is one of Japan's most popular, and is the head shrine for some 30,000 Inari shrines scattered the length and breadth of Japan.

The entire complex sprawls across the wooded slopes of Inari-yama. A pathway wanders 4km up the mountain and is lined with thousands of red torii. There are also dozens of stone foxes. The fox is considered the messenger of Inari, the god of the rice harvest (and, later on, business). The Japanese traditionally see the fox a sacred, somewhat mysterious figure capable of 'possessing' humans. The key often seen in the fox's mouth is for the rice granary.

The walk around the upper precincts of the shrine is a pleasant day hike. It also makes for a very eerie stroll in the late afternoon and early evening, when the various graveyards and miniature shrines along the path take on a mysterious air.

Before entering the Fushimi Inari Taisha (Shinto Shrine) we had to stop at the cleansing area with water and we used these wooden long handled cups to catch the water and you must wash the left hand first and then the right hand and then you pour water into your left hand and rinse your mouth. Here they were selling the Tori Gate ornaments that you can buy and have your wish written on it in Japanese and leave it for your wish to come true. Our guide said many people buy them to take home. I got one and our guide wrote my wish on one side of the gate (May your wishes/dreams come true) and she wrote my name on the other side of the gate in Japanese.

 



Pictures weren’t allowed inside any of the places we visited. One place sold post cards, but the other ones did not. We did get some nice shots outside however.

The bathrooms that we used were quite interesting. The seats were all heated. (plus, lots of other options for cleaning etc.)



 

Sanjūsangen-dō Temple

The original Sanjūsangen-dō was built in 1164 at the request of the retired emperor Go-shirakawa. The temple's name refers to the 33 (sanjūsan) bays between the pillars of this long, narrow building, which houses 1001 statues of the 1000-armed Kannon (the Buddhist goddess of mercy). The largest Kannon is flanked on either side by 500 smaller Kannon images, neatly lined up in rows.

There are an awful lot of arms, but if you're picky and think the 1000-armed statues don't have the required number of limbs, then you should remember to calculate according to the nifty Buddhist mathematical formula that holds that 40 arms are the equivalent of 1000 arms, because each saves 25 worlds.

At the back of the hall are 28 guardian statues in a great variety of expressive poses. The gallery on the western side of the hall is famous for the annual Tōshi-ya Matsuri, held on 15 January, during which archers shoot arrows the length of the hall.

 

Nijō-jō Castle

This castle was built in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa shōgun, Ieyasu. The ostentatious style of its construction was intended as a demonstration of Ieyasu's prestige and also to signal the demise of the emperor's power. As a safeguard against treachery, Ieyasu had the interior fitted with 'nightingale' floors, as well as concealed chambers where bodyguards could keep watch.

After passing through the grand Kara-mon gate, you enter Ninomaru Palace, which is divided into five buildings with numerous chambers. The Ohiroma Yon-no-Ma (Fourth Chamber) has spectacular screen paintings. Don't miss the excellent Ninomaru Palace Garden, which was designed by the tea master and landscape architect Kobori Enshū.

 



Kinkaku-ji

Kyoto's famed 'Golden Pavilion', Kinkaku-ji is one of Japan's best-known sights. The original building was built in 1397 as a retirement villa for Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. His son converted it into a temple.

In 1950 a young monk consummated his obsession with the temple by burning it to the ground. The monk's story was fictionalised in Mishima Yukio's The Golden Pavilion. In 1955 a full reconstruction was completed that exactly followed the original design, but the gold-foil covering w as extended to the lower floors.

 our tickets to the Golden Pavilion



Yoriko was a wealth of information on the sites we were seeing and life in Japan. We had a wonderful Japanese lunch at the Ana Crown Plaza Hotel. They had a sashimi box and a tempura box. Everything was very good. Best miso soup I have ever had. Lots of flavor and not at all “fishy”. It even had these cute little fresh water clams at the bottom (smaller than your pinkie fingernail.) Tempura was light and tasty. For dessert they served semi frozen persimmons. YUM!



At the end of the day we still had about an hour before all aboard so Greg and I took off to find some local food. There was a food court nearby and we got a tempura bowl and a shrimp and egg bowl. Both were very good.

 ride back to the train station

 Yorika leading the way

 walk back to the ship at night

 where we had dinner

 Yum!

 sail away....



Then we got back on the ship and grabbed some food at the buffet. (It was themed for St Patricks day) We watched our sail away until the rain chased us in and then we went in to see the comedy show with Jeff Stevenson.

Now we are back in the cabin to get ready for our day in Hiroshima tomorrow.