Kyoto: Heian Shrine

Heian Shrine was one of the most impressive temple complexes that we visited and we almost missed it!  It wasn't even on our radar, but there was a martial arts supply store that I wanted to visit, and the nearest landmark to tell to the taxi driver was Heian.  Boy, did we luck out. 

 

Notice the wire to keep birds out.

 

 

This large courtyard is completely surrounded by buildings.

 This lion fountain was to the left after entering the main gate.

 And the dragon was to the right.

 

Look at the embroidery on the banner.  The banner was about 18 inches wide by 30 yards long.

This giant torii gate stood outside the main gate.  About a quarter of a mile on the other side is where we celebrated New Year's Eve.

The temple also had a very large and famous garden, but we didn't go in because it was fairly expensive, we were cold, and we wanted to see (ok, maybe just I did) the samurai stuff.

I didn't take pictures but the swords were awesome.  There is a martial art called Iaido which uses swords as part of a physical exercise.  Those swords were made out of aluminum because real swords have to be registered as deadly weapons.  The store had some old, historical blades that were amazing to see.  

The store had a video about how Japanese samurai swords are made.  We sat down and watched the whole thing.  The process is long and intricate.  No wonder a real sword costs a few thousand dollars!  I'm sure my inlaws were bored way before I was, but I guess that just goes to show they aren't huge nerds.

Kyoto: The Imperial Palace Grounds

The Imperial Palace was closed when we visited.  You have to book tours in advance and they palace was going to be closed while we were there.  Bummer.  We still walked around the grounds.  Today they are a large park, but when the palace was still in use, the area was a wealthy district in the city.

All we really saw was the wall around the palace and the gates.  Thankfully, Japanese gates are worth stopping to look at.

The policeman below guarded this gate.  If you zoom in you can probably find some security cameras.  No, the cameras are not original, although I'm sure they would've helped some emperors sleep better.

 

 

The roof thatching is made of bark.  The time it must have taken to cut and shape all those strips of bark is amazing.  The woodwork, ceramic roof tiles, and gold leaf are amazing.  And this is just a side entrance!  We didn't even get to see the palace.

 This was the front gate.  Many of the old thatched roofs were covered in mold.  I wonder how long those roofs last before they have to be replaced.  You can see the tiny slats on the bottom of the roof.  Each one has to shaped to make those corners and to get the angle.  It is very detailed and precise work.

I'll post more pictures soon.  I'll try to make the posts build in interest.  I can't make any promises, but one of them might even have some video.

Back from Break

I just got back from Kyoto.  As a taste of pictures to come....

I've been looking for one of those...