Today was our second full day in the Kyoto area. Yesterday we walked about 14 miles and hit a couple temples along the way. We actually went to the Imperial Palace first off but it was closed. Whether it was closed because it's always closed Thursdays or because it was Constitution Day here we don't know. Hopefully we have to time to try again. Tomorrow is actually another holiday here -- Children's Day, I believe. Only after we booked parts of this trip did we realize we were traveling during Golden Week in Japan. It's a huge holiday week here and consequently prices are higher, availability is lower, and landmarks and attractions are crowded! Still, we're having a great time on the journey.
Today we actually spent down the tracks about an hour (by bullet train) to Himeji. We got a free English-speaking guide to take us around the castle grounds, which was originally built 400 years ago. It's really a very beautiful site and our guide was fantastic. After battling the crowds there we headed off to a noodle shop for lunch where a guy is making fresh Udon noodles right behind the counter. The lunch was delicious and even quite inexpensive!
After charging our batteries with Udon, we walked back to the castle area for a trip through the gardens and a brief tea ceremony during which we made our best fish-out-of-water impressions. The highlight took place right off the top when one of our hostesses tried to communicate that I was doing something not quite right. After some trial-and-error and some failed attempts at sign language, I finally realized I was sitting like the ladies (legs tucked directly underneath me and butt on my feet) and not in the manly style (what we call Indian-style with our legs crossed). I'm certain that this wasn't the end of our string of miscues but from there on out we only received verbal feedback from the hostesses, which we utterly failed to comprehend.
Tomorrow the plan is to spend another day romping around Kyoto checking out various sites named things like "Golden Temple" and "Monkey Park" -- not necessarily in that order. The weather has been pretty good in Kyoto with the exception of scattered micro-showers here and there. Tomorrow the report is for overcast skies and perhaps more rain. We're hoping not. Fingers crossed!
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