We checked out around 8.30am and left our luggage with the hotel concierge..
Certain part of the garden was beautiful but most of it was just rows and rows of pine trees.. The compound is HUGE, the perimeter was almost 5km!! :o There were 2 small shrines within the compound.. As we didn't get the approval in advance, we were not allowed into the Imperial Palace.. The garden had wide sandy roads, which were used for athlete training by some schools.. It was a good-weathered day.. the sun was out in full-force.. mercury rising fast.. We left the Imperial Garden and went to meet Raila-chan. As we haven't had our lunch yet, we wanted to find a place to eat.. There was none in sight when we reach Nijo-jo Mae Station. In the end, we had to go to one of the convenient stores and buy Bento/Bread/Rice rolls and eat them on the stairways! I felt bad for making them eat this way... :x
It was another BIG surprise when we reached Nijo-jo Castle... And I thought eating on the stairways was bad... The Castle was closed on Tuesdays in July and Aug!!! :x I was shocked.. I did all the researching of the places to visit in Kyoto and yet I didn't check/find out that Nijo-jo Castle was closed on Tuesdays in July and August!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How careless I was!! I knew everyone in the group was looking forward to visit this castle and I screwed it up!! Really Very Sorry guys/gals.. My BIG mistake.. :x
So we proceed to our next destination, Toji-Temple by bus.. And this was another place that exceeded my expectation..
Other than the tower in the photo, there are several big halls within the compound that houses statues of Buddhist deities.. One of them houses the Healing Buddha, 薬菩薩. There is also a lotus pond with lots of lotus flowers blooming.. I never saw real lotus in such a close range.. and they are really very beautiful.. took lots of photos of them.. there are still several halls that we didnt visit due to time constraint.. Thus Toji-Temple will be another Temple that I will revisit in the next 2 years while I'm still in Japan.. :)
We then go to Nishi-honganji Temple. It was either my bad luck or the day was jinxed, the Main Hall of Nishi-honganji Temple started renovation the day before!!! So we could only see the side Hall.. Everywhere was covered or segregated for the renovation... In the end, we left less than 45 minutes later..
As there were still time, we decided to give Nishiki Food Market a try. Raila-chan wanted to do some window-shopping at the shopping center adjacent to the Kyoto Station, so the 4 of us took the train there.. When we got there, it was not as fantastic as we expected it would be.. Maybe because we were ignorant of the food sold and merchandise on display, we were not able to appreciate them.. Frankly speaking, those food items look odd to me, rather than delicious/exotic.. Maybe the trip to the Food Market would be more interesting if we have some local Japanese to do some explaining to us.. We finished walking the entire Food Market in less 40min.. When we walked out from another exit of the Food Market, we realized that we had been there the day before!! Cos we were there in the evening, the Food Market was closed. It was just another street within the shopping area!!
After getting some souvenirs (お土産), we headed back to Kyoto Station. We decided to have our dinner and then get our luggage from the concierge. We went to the same curry restaurant at the Station for the 2nd time.. :) Instead of ordering the vegetable curry again, I ordered beef stew omelet rice.. It was delicious.. Chua-san wanted to get some お土産 from the shops nearby, so the 3 of us went back to the hotel to get our luggage.. While waiting for Chua-san, Alex-san realized that he had misplaced his card reader and went back to the hotel to inquire about it.. I was (as usual) sweating over the possibility of not making it in time for our train back.. and as usual, my worries are redundant.. In fact we got onto the platform 15min earlier.. :p
One very interesting thing, at least to me, was that it rained heavily when we got onto the platform.. The weather for these four days in Kyoto was sunny, sunny and very sunny.. So it was kinda weird for it to rain suddenly.. It was like someone up there saw to it that we had safely made it to the station and were on our way back to Tokyo, that HE/SHE decided to let it rain in Kyoto.. :D :D :D
On the trip back, as usual, Kim-chan and I chatted, Chua-san slept, Alex-san was watching anime on his laptop while Raila-chan was listening to music. Later Chua-san woke up and join in the chat.. As usual, Kim-chan and Chua-san was tugging/pulling/disturbing each other's hands/arms/hair/etc.. It was like two kids playing.. :p
We reached Tokyo around 9.15pm.. By the time I got back to the dorm, it was almost 10.30pm..
And so ended the exciting trip to Kyoto.. I must thank everyone in the group for putting up with my bad temper/mood and my bossiness during the trip.. And I sincerely apologize for any toes/feelings that I have stepped on/hurt in the trip.. Of course, not forgetting to apologize again for the big boo-boo that I've made for Nijo-jo Castle.. 本当に ごめなさい。。
Lastly, do mark my word, I will be back to Kyoto for another visit, at least once.. :p
Click here for the photos I took during the trip...
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