Day 11: Golden & Silver Pavilions and Gion Corner

Today we visited two of Kyoto's World Heritage sites, Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) and Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion). First, we bought a city bus day pass and hopped a bus to Kinkaku-ji. I had read reviews that it wasn't worth seeing, while others claimed it was a must see. I think I agree with the latter: The pavilion was so beautiful! The garden and pond beside the pavilion were stunning as well. The pavilion's 2nd and 3rd floors are actually covered in gold leaf, which looked amazing against the blue-grey sky. I had also heard that Kinkaku-ji can get super crowded, but today it was only somewhat busy. I was able to take pictures from the best spots without elbowing anyone. :P

On the grounds of Kinkaku-ji were many ice cream & shaved ice vendors. We stopped and enjoyed some dessert despite all the bugs trying to maul me. Japanese moquitoes are apparently invisible like ninjas... they desperately want to kill me. -_- Oh well, that's the price one pays to sightsee in the summer. :)

We moved on to Ginkaku-ji, the silver pavilion. It was called that because they intended to cover it with silver leaf, but somehow that never happened. So it's simply a lovely wooden building in splendid gardens. We were so hot and tired (I'm serious about wiping sweat every minute- it's humid!!) that we didn't explore the whole grounds, but what we did see was lovely.

About 5 pm we arrived back at the hotel with dinner from 7-11. I had pork cutlet curry rice which was just as good as restaurant food. My feet were sore from walking a ton, but we decided to brave the heat once more to go to Gion Corner. Gion Corner is a show geared towards foreigners which gives a taste of several Japanese arts. It consists of koto music, tea ceremony, flower arranging, kyogen (a type of comedy play), kyomai (Kyoto-style dance), gagaku (Imperial court music), and bunraku (puppetry). Every part of the show was excellent. My favorite part was the maiko dancing while mom enjoyed the koto music. The comedy play was really funny despite being all in Japanese! Also, the show took place in Gion, a historical district in Kyoto famous for its tea houses where geisha perform. Unfortunately, we didn't happen to spot any geisha as we walked along. 

Kyoto has been a really amazing experience, but now it's time to move on. Tomorrow we will spend quite a bit of time traveling as we go from Kyoto to Shikoku, the smallest of Japan's four main islands. That's all for now. ^_^