Post 552 Japan 2023
Japan Day 2 - The Golden Pavilion
Bus Hamamarta to Osaka via kyoto.
The Pavilion along with its picturesque garden is popular with both international and Japanese tourists.
Japan Day 2
Bus Hamamarta to Osaka via kyoto.
Golden pavilion - actual leaf gold on wooden structure. rebuilt in the 1950s after a mad monk burned it down. Ironic because it had survived lots of civil wars with various Shoguns and the Emperor.
Bamboo forest not all that impressive.
Lunch steamed pork and beef buns. Lots of Japanese girls in rented kimonos
Poor blocks pulling tourists around in rick Shaws.
100o gates pity was rushed at the end of the day and Ann didn't get to see the gates up close. then we lost lost a member of our team.
Team I use that work loosely as some members just wanted to leave them.
Nice Barbecue tea tonight. warned that hotel room is small. It is but still very pratcile.
Ann ended up with a whisky drink at tea - then found on the way out there was a drink machine complementy
The Golden Pavilion.
It is ironic that the pavilion survived lots of civil wars between various Shogun and Emperors only to be burned down by a made monk in the 1950s. It has been completely rebuilt since then.
The Golden Pavilion
Even though we have been there I am still not too sure on the details of the significance of the pavilion or the phoenix that adorns the roof. It is gold not because it has been painted that colour but because the timber structure has been coated in gold leaf.
The Bamboo Forest
The Bamboo Forest on the other hand was less impressive.
It is still very popular even though our guide assured us that it was not very busy we thought it was quite crowded. There were quite a few Japanese, young ladies, young couples and even families dressed in traditional Kimonos. It is a popular thing to do to hire a kimono for the day.
The Bamboo Forest.
These blokes were doing a roaring trade with the tourists wanting a ride through the street in their rickshaws.
1000 Torii
Again I should do some more research. There are a lot of Torri (gates) marking the entrance to a temple. I don't think there are precisely 1000 but I didn't count them. I also don't think the Japanese writing is spiritually significant. Japanese people or companies pay to have their name placed on a gate.