The Imperial Palace, Tokyo

I'm spending a day here in Tokyo getting ready to go back to my regular life. I enjoyed a beautiful stroll through the Imperial Palace East Gardens today.

Toji Temple, Kyoto

This temple is very significant to the Shikoku Pilgrimage. It was founded by Kukai (Kobo Daishi), founder of the pilgrimage. He actually lived here and he built its famous pagoda. I paid a second visit to get one last stamp in my temple book.

Nijo Castle, Kyoto

I ended my day with a stroll through Nijo Castle and it's lovely gardens.

Yasaka Shrine, Kyoto

Yasaka Shrine was a busy place today with several weddings taking place. I took a long walk through the gardens of Maruyama Park while I was there.

Sanjusangen-do Temple, Kyoto

This place was amazing. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures inside. Inside the main building are 1001 statues of the Buddhist deity Kannon. There are another 28 statues of guardian deities in front of the 1001 Kannon statues. It was a breathtaking sight to see.

Kyoto

I have been wandering through Kyoto for a couple of days. There are so many amazing sites to see here that a person could spend a lifetime here and still not see it all.

The crowds have been horrendous though. Sometimes they drive me a little crazy because I can hardly move without bumping into someone. Kyoto Station is a complete madhouse to the point where it is almost laughable. It's almost impossible to get where you are trying to go sometimes.

But Kyoto is such an amazing place that it is worth the extra effort it takes to get around. I did make good use of the bus system today though. But I still did quite a bit of walking. I walked to Kiyomizu-dera Temple first. It was extremely crowded but once I started up the steep paths to the pagoda I left the crowds behind. I even found a completely deserted steep pathway down through the gardens rather than fight the crowds back to the street.

Then I caught the bus to the Heian Jingu Shrine and from there walked one of my favorite little pathways. It's called The Path of Philosophy. It wasn't very crowded either and I followed it all the way to Ginkakuji Temple, where all of the crowds were hiding. It was crazy there but the gardens there are some of the most spectacular of any I've seen. Beautiful ponds and so many varieties of trees. They have fascinating gardens of sand there too. It would be such a peaceful place if not for thousands of people sharing it with you!

My favorite spot is Kinkakuji Temple so I grabbed another bus and spent some time there. The last time I was there it was cloudy. But today the gold foil covering the outside of the building just sparkled in the sun. It is a spectacular place to visit.

So many places to see here that I haven't decided where to go tomorrow.

Kinkakuji, Kyoto

Always my favorite place here in Kyoto. The spectacular Kinkakuji Temple - the Golden Pavilion with its brilliant gold foil exterior, and of course, profoundly magnificent gardens and ponds.