Kyoto Day w

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Today was my first full day in Kyoto and I started out early to see some of the famous temples, shrines, and gardens. There are always a lot of tourists and tour groups in Kyoto so the sights can be crowded. One must set priorities about which ones to see and also which ones to see first before the crowds get too bad. My choice was to take a taxi to Ryoan-ji, a temple within which is the world’s most famous rock and gravel garden. The monks keep the gravel raked in a certain pattern and the stones are said to represent various creatures or objects. It’s all very Zen and I don’t pretend to understand, but it was interesting to see the garden after reading so much about it in preparation for this trip. I bought a 2-day unlimited bus pass when I arrived yesterday, so I traveled by bus several times to get between sights. I was able to use my iPad to keep track of where I was (there’s a blue circle indicating my position using GPS even when I’m not connected to the internet). And I could use the map to see which buses stopped nearby, as well as which ones went to my destination. How did people get by without handheld devices? lol My next visit was to the Golden Temple which lives up to its name. It was the most crowded place I went today, but worth it. It is lovely to look at in a picturesque setting and before you ask, no, you’re not allowed to go inside. I won’t list all the other temple gardens I visited, but I’ll include a photo of one more dry garden because it was my favorite. I was looking forward to the bamboo forest garden, but that particular one was closed until 2019 while they retrofit for earthquakes, or so the sign said. Still I managed to snap a picture through the gate. My last stop of the day was to see the Yasaka Pagoda which is located near my hotel. Rain had been threatening all day, but I had managed to stay relatively dry until I got to the pagoda. I stayed just long enough to snap a picture, get out my travel umbrella, and then hightail it to my room. I feel good about all that I got see today. At times I felt envious of the tour groups with the knowledgeable guides, but I feel adequately compensated by my pre-trip study and by my ability, as a solo traveler, to follow my own schedule and change my mind as conditions dictate.

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