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...and many more.
For the 16th, Naoko had managed to book us into not one but two exclusive sites; the Katsura imperial villa and the Koke-Dera moss temple, both located around Arashiyama where she lives.
The imperial villa worked much like the palace: the visit was free, but you had to register ahead of time, and provide passport numbers and other information. The villa, neatly, also had a free English audio guide, where you punched in a number for each stop and it gave you the English version of the Japanese narration the guide was providing. The pace was a lot more relaxed than the palace, with enough time to enjoy the environs.
Much like the palace, the Imperial Villa site, which consists of one large building and some small tea houses and temples, is anything but flashy. It's hard to explain just how serene and intimate some of these sites are; and how carefully constructed the gardens and layout. One of the tea houses has three views out of it, and it was situated such that each view of the garden was completely different, offering representations of different landscapes — a mountainscape, a farming valley etc. Also, the Imperial Household Agency had not only purchased the nearby land which used to be farmland in the past, but also arranged for farmers to cultivate it again so that some other views would be close to those that existed when the villa was being used.
After the villa, we swung by Naoko's house, and walked through a lot of the Arashiyama area, including the famous Sagano bamboo forest. Unfortunately we were in a bit of a hurry — I would have loved to spend more time there because the neighborhood was also historic, but in a much more rustic and rural way than Fushimi or Gion.
In particular, some of the architectural details in the buildings, and the contrast with the nearby bamboo forest would have been worth a visit just for their own sake. There were also some interesting stores with textile and woodwork crafts, as well as a few more religious sites we had to pass.
Once past Arashiyama proper, and the Moon Crossing Bridge, we took a train for a few stops to get closer to Koke-Dera. The cherry blossoms were pretty much done in Arashiyama, but seeing it with fall colors has become one of my goals.
Koke-Dera, or more properly Saihō-ji, is a Buddhist temple famous for its moss garden. To regulate the number of visitors, the entry fee is steep, you must get prior written permission from the temple, and you have to participate in a zazen calligraphy session before you are allowed into the garden.
The garden itself was very subtle; I fear that trying to capture the hues and atmosphere with a camera was a challenge beyond my abilities.
After the day's outing, I took some time to return to the Nijō Castle, which also featured a light-up. Unlike the Toji one, it became quickly obvious that the castle was a lot more popular. There were a few areas where you could set up a tripod, but for the most part you were herded through a one-way only loop. Even so, it was very neat.
The cherry blossoms were still in near full bloom, which made for some spectacular sights on the castle grounds. In addition to the light-up, there were obligatory festival food booths, souvenir booths, and a free concert.
Gallery and slideshow.
For the 16th, Naoko had managed to book us into not one but two exclusive sites; the Katsura imperial villa and the Koke-Dera moss temple, both located around Arashiyama where she lives.
The imperial villa worked much like the palace: the visit was free, but you had to register ahead of time, and provide passport numbers and other information. The villa, neatly, also had a free English audio guide, where you punched in a number for each stop and it gave you the English version of the Japanese narration the guide was providing. The pace was a lot more relaxed than the palace, with enough time to enjoy the environs.
Much like the palace, the Imperial Villa site, which consists of one large building and some small tea houses and temples, is anything but flashy. It's hard to explain just how serene and intimate some of these sites are; and how carefully constructed the gardens and layout. One of the tea houses has three views out of it, and it was situated such that each view of the garden was completely different, offering representations of different landscapes — a mountainscape, a farming valley etc. Also, the Imperial Household Agency had not only purchased the nearby land which used to be farmland in the past, but also arranged for farmers to cultivate it again so that some other views would be close to those that existed when the villa was being used.
After the villa, we swung by Naoko's house, and walked through a lot of the Arashiyama area, including the famous Sagano bamboo forest. Unfortunately we were in a bit of a hurry — I would have loved to spend more time there because the neighborhood was also historic, but in a much more rustic and rural way than Fushimi or Gion.
In particular, some of the architectural details in the buildings, and the contrast with the nearby bamboo forest would have been worth a visit just for their own sake. There were also some interesting stores with textile and woodwork crafts, as well as a few more religious sites we had to pass.
Once past Arashiyama proper, and the Moon Crossing Bridge, we took a train for a few stops to get closer to Koke-Dera. The cherry blossoms were pretty much done in Arashiyama, but seeing it with fall colors has become one of my goals.
Koke-Dera, or more properly Saihō-ji, is a Buddhist temple famous for its moss garden. To regulate the number of visitors, the entry fee is steep, you must get prior written permission from the temple, and you have to participate in a zazen calligraphy session before you are allowed into the garden.
The garden itself was very subtle; I fear that trying to capture the hues and atmosphere with a camera was a challenge beyond my abilities.
After the day's outing, I took some time to return to the Nijō Castle, which also featured a light-up. Unlike the Toji one, it became quickly obvious that the castle was a lot more popular. There were a few areas where you could set up a tripod, but for the most part you were herded through a one-way only loop. Even so, it was very neat.
The cherry blossoms were still in near full bloom, which made for some spectacular sights on the castle grounds. In addition to the light-up, there were obligatory festival food booths, souvenir booths, and a free concert.
Gallery and slideshow.
