Kyoto Day Two (Even More)

Our final destination on our second day was Ninna-ji temple. This temple compound was once an imperial residence as well and I found the architecture and atmosphere to be positively sublime. I could have spent a whole week just visiting this one particular compound. I wanted to set up my OWN residence here.
Walking through the main gate was like entering into an entirely different time and place. It's easy to fall in love with Japan when you are in Kyoto.
Even the ticket booths look ancient!











Ninnaji was one of my absolute favorite places in Kyoto. Mysterious, secluded, peaceful... I just loved it. It wasn't very crowded the day that we went either so it also felt very intimate.


Tatami rooms



I just love how Japanese architecture blends with its surroundings. The landscaping and surrounding gardens are an integral part of the overall beauty of temple compounds.
Cliff is the hippie Oregonian in our marriage, (literally,) but even I can appreciate the profound respect the Japanese people have always had for nature.





Japanese "castles" and "palaces" are not flashy and ornate in the same way that western palaces are (think Versailles,) but that doesn't mean they are without exquisite beauty and attention to detail. I was constantly amazed by the lattice work and wood carving.







Haha! I loved the vending machine here. I really think it fit right in....
And that wraps us Ninna-ji and day two!!!

Kyoto Day Two Continued

After leaving the Golden Pavilion we came across a Japanese style buffet restaurant and decided to have lunch there. Everyone can find something they like at a buffet! The food was delicious and I always enjoy eating on tatami mats. Lilia enjoyed everything too. She got to sit in a "big girl" chair for lunch.
Japanese buffets are often timed. You can have all you can eat - within a certain time frame. We had a one hour limit. I thought it funny that the hostess was very concerned about the time frame and repeatedly stressed that we ONLY had an hour to eat.I think we were completely finished and out the door with at least 20 minutes to go! I guess that's just how Americans roll. We shove food in our faces and hit the ground running. In our defense, I really thought we took our time and enjoyed our food AND we had a baby with us!

We arrived at our next destination, "Ryoanji Temple" shortly after lunch. This was another world heritage site that we didn't want to miss.
Hydrangea was not nearly as abundant in Kyoto as I thought it might be for the middle of June. This was a rare and exciting find for me!
Cliff and I decided long ago that a good way to physically describe Japan is if Atlanta Georgia and Portland Oregon had a baby. You have all of the moss and rich green dampness of Portland mixed in with the deciduous foliage and climate of Atlanta. I guess that makes Lilia Japan if I am Atlanta and Cliff is Portland.




Ryoanji Temple is famous for its zen rock garden. Apparently there is purpose and significance in the placement and pattern of the rocks. This was unfortunately lost on me. There were plenty of pictures and diagrams around the garden explaining the design and importance, but they were all in Kanji, of course. Impressive nonetheless. I don't think I would have the patience to comb a rock garden of this magnitude, but then again, I have never considered myself very "zen," either.











Doesn't this look fake? The forest at Ryoanji was SO GREEN! Fairies don't immediately come to mind when I think of Japan, but this was like a fairy forest. Or maybe not... It was too well manicured... But the moss and the green were very whimisical indeed.



Again with all of the green. Ryoanji was a very very GREEN temple compound. These trees were my favorites, though. Don't they look like they belong in a Dr. Seuss book??

Truffula trees? Is that what they were called in "The Lorax?"

Green, green, green and... serene...