Himeji Castle and cherry blossom

Himeji Castle

En route from Kyoto to our next place, Kobe, we stopped off at Himeji to visit its highly revered castle, and to see the cherry blossom. Both the castle, known as the White Heron, and the cherry blossom are beautiful in their own right, but together, they are truly stunning.

Himeji Castle

There has been a castle here since around 1350, but the current one was constructed in the early 1600s. It survived World War II, despite the town itself being devastated. When we visited, they had just reopened, after a five year restoration period.

Himeji Castle

Of course this reopening, together with the lure of the cherry blossom, meant that visiting was extremely popular, so the castle was incredibly busy.

Himeji Castle

We did manage to get in, eventually, but we were literally shuffling around, in the kind of crowds that you usually only see on the London underground in rush hour; it was shoulder to shoulder, and you had to watch out for the little old ladies trying to push you out of their way.

Himeji Castle

Personally, I wasn't that impressed with the inside. It likely would have been more enjoyable if it were less crowded, or if you had a particular interest in Japanese castles, but for me, I could happily have given the inside a miss and just focussed on the outside.

Himeji Castle

There are some interesting features though. The white plaster that covers it is made from a traditional method of slaked lime, shell ash, hemp fibre and seaweed. There are spaces at the corners to hide warriors for an ambush, and platforms from which to throw stones at the enemy.

Abura-kabe wall, Himeji Castle

And there is one remaining Abura-Kabe wall, from the late 1500s, which is made from a mix of mountain soil, pea gravel, rice-washing water and rice porridge.

Himeji Castle

Back outside, we wandered amongst the cherry blossom, watching the Japanese excitedly having their Sakura picnics on the blue tarpaulin, and taking even more photos than I did.

Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle



Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle



Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle



Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle



Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle

Kyoto - some more temples and lots of cherry blossom

Yasaka Shrine, Kyoto

The Yasaka Shrine, also known as the Gion Shrine is an important temple in Kyoto, because of its location in Gion, its age - founded around 650, and the fact that it sponsors Kyoto's biggest annual festival, the Gion Matsuri. It has many paper lanterns outside, which all bear the name of a local business that has donated money.

Yasaka Shrine, Kyoto

Of course we were here for none of those reasons, but rather because there were some rather good food stalls around the shrine, and with its orange colour, overlooking lanterns in the evening and the cherry blossom during the day, it looked lovely.



Maruyama Park, Kyoto

Behind the temple is Maruyama Park, which is an excellent place to see the cherry blossom, and also the locals having their sakura parties where they bring along their groundsheets and picnics and enjoy being amongst the blossom. We were surprised just how excited the Japanese get about the blossom, but it really is a big thing for them.



Maruyama Park, Kyoto

Some get dressed up in their kimono for the occasion. I asked a group of ladies if they would mind if I took a photo, and instead got pulled in to be in the photo with them. They did at least take one for me as well.


Maruyama Park, Kyoto





Maruyama Park, Kyoto

Maruyama Park, Kyoto



Maruyama Park, Kyoto

Sanmon Gate, Chion-in Temple, Kyoto

On the other side of the park is the Chion-in Temple, which is the head temple of the Jodo sect of Japanese Buddhism, and has the largest wooden Sanmon Gate in Japan, which dates to the 1600s.

Chion-in Temple, Kyoto

This wasn't the most exciting or pretty temple, but it does have a very nice cherry tree, and it has Seven Wonders. They are interesting, but not especially wondrous, so I will just cover three of them here.



Chion-in Temple, Kyoto

The first is the Uguisubari-no-roka, or the Nightingale Floors; the floors in the hallways have been constructed so that, no matter how carefully you walk on them they make a tuneful noise, that is said to sound like a nightingale's call. Not only is it great for deterring burglars or nosey snoopers, it is also supposed to make the sound of the words 'ho kike yo', which means 'listen to the Buddha's teachings'.


Chion-in Temple, Kyoto

Then there is Nukesuzume, or The Sparrows that Flew Away; it is believed that one of the painted doors originally had sparrows on it, but they were so realistic, that the sparrows flew away, leaving only the mark of where they once had been.


Chion-in Temple, Kyoto

The last one I'll tell you about is Sanpo Shomen Mamuki-no-Neko, or The Cat that Sees in Three Directions; there is a mother cat and kitten painted on a door to a hallway, and it is said that wherever you stand, the mother cat is watching you, representing that people must always keep their eyes looking forward.

Shoren-in Temple, Kyoto

Close by is the Shoren-in Temple, which did have some nice gardens.

Shoren-in Temple, Kyoto



Kiomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto

The final temple that I will include in this post was sadly a little disappointing.


Kiomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto

The Kigomizu-dera, or Pure Water Temple, was built in 780, and much of the main hall and the large stage area were built without using any nails.

Kiomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto

The temple takes its name from the Otowa waterfall that is on the grounds.





Kiomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto

Ottawa waterfall, Kiomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto

The flow of water is split into three streams that represent longevity, success at school, and good fortune in love. There are long poles with cups on the end to enable you to take a drink from the stream of your choice, to help you in that respect. However to drink from all three is considered greedy.



Kiomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto

Another legend is at the Jishu Shrine, where two stones sit eighteen metres apart. It is said that if you can walk from one to the other with your eyes closed, you will have good luck in finding love. However if you have help in making the walk, you will also need help to find love.



Kiomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto

Kyoto

Kyoto

There are a lot of shops on the path up to the temple, which is quite nice, but it does get very busy.



Kyoto - Castle, Gardens and Sake

Nijo-jo, Kyoto

Our first bit of sightseeing in Kyoto was the castle, Nijo-jo, which was originally built in 1603 by Ieyasa, the first Tokugawa Shogun, and subsequently added to. The late 1700s saw the destruction of both the original tower and the Honmaru Palace, the latter of which was replaced by bringing over part of the Imperial Palace at Katsura.



Nijo-jo, Kyoto

In 1867, Yoshinobu, the fifteenth Shogun, returned sovereignty to the Emperor in a ceremonly held here at the castle, and it became an Imperial Palace.

Cherry blossom, Kyoto

The Nimomaru Palace has many impressive wall paintings by members of the Kano school, although they have been replaced with replicas, with the originals now moved to the gallery for conservation. The castle was donated to the city of Kyoto in 1939 and renamed Nijo-jo.

Cherry blossom, Kyoto

After the castle, we stopped for something to eat in Cafe Bibliotic Hello. It was a great cafe, and we decided to try the day's special of wagyu; we didn't regret it. We were to try more wagyu later, when we got to Kobe, and I will post about the beef there, but this was a relatively cheap wagyu, and yet still tasted delicious. Pity they didn't have it on the menu all the time.

Cherry blossom, Kyoto

We couldn't linger too long though, as we were off to the Imperial Palace Gardens. The buildings of the Palace are hidden away behind large walls. It is possible to do a tour inside the walls, but you still don't get inside the buildings, so we didn't bother. We were here to see the gardens, in search of the cherry blossom.



As well as the normal trees, they have a few nice weeping cherry trees in the gardens here, which do look quite pretty. But we were soon feeling quite frustrated, as there were endless people posing in front of the trees, making it impossible to take an unobstructed shot.



Cherry blossom, Kyoto

Having done our sightseeing for the day, our plan was to head to the nearby Sake Bar Yoramu, run by an Israeli man who is something of an expert. We had looked for it earlier. But not found it, so we left plenty of time to get there, as we knew that it was, like many Japanese bars, a tiny place and can get very busy.

Cherry blossom, Kyoto

In fact, we found it quite quickly, so arrived just as it opened. As it turned out, it was very quiet all night, which was great, as it meant that we could monopolise the owner and learn more about the sake. I'll do a separate post about sake at some point, rather than talk about it in detail here.
The owner was certainly something of a sake snob, refusing to stock or drink anything other than premium, small batch sake, so his stuff wasn't cheap, but it was excellent. We tried a good number, learned a bit about the types that we prefer, and blew a few sake myths.

Sake Bar Yoramu, Kyoto

In particular, we discovered that, if it is of good enough quality, sake can be kept and aged. We tried one from a brewery called Kidoizuma, called AFS 1976, that was 49 years old. It is very hard to get hold of now, but was delicious. Like most drinks, aging changes the nature of the drink, and this becomes more reminiscent of a sherry than normal sake, but it certainly shows that, in the right conditions, sake can be aged.