Why Kyoto?

Kyoto served as the capital of Japan from the 700's until 1868 when it moved to Tokyo. As such, there are many important historical and religious sites to see here. Furthermore, during WWII when we pretty much obliterated much of Japan, we graciously left Kyoto untouched. It has an enormous amount of quality original temples, shrines, villas, etc. In fact, Elle and Justin were delighted to hear that there are over 2000 temples/shrines in Kyoto! Today, we visited just two.

We took the bus, remarkably easy, to Ginkakuji Temple. We then took a leisurely stroll down the Philosopher's Path to Nanzenji, about a mile away. I won't bore any of us with information about the temples, except to say they were both gorgeous buildings with amazing peaceful gardens. The Philosopher's Path is a great pedestrian only walk along a canal with quaint shops and cafes lining one side. All the trees and flowers were in bloom. Tourists and locals alike were out for afternoon strolls in the beautiful weather, finally!

Two sidenotes:

I remarked in Tokyo that the countries government sponsored recycling program was the most extensive I've ever seen. In our apartment, in all homes, there were 6 bins in which to separate your garbage. Each day of the week a different container is picked up. It's incredible. Makoto, our host, said "well it's a small country with a lot of people. We have to do this." It's true, Japan has nearly 130 million people, they have nearly half our population all squeezed into a country smaller than California. In Kyoto, I have noticed the same advanced recyling programs, even on the street there are separate receptacles for your trash.

And, the night before we left Tokyo, Justin was up late working and felt jolted by an earthquake. Makoto was unfazed when Justin told him, and why wouldn't he be? Japan has an enormous amount of seismic activity. An earthquake that is big enough to be felt happens on average every 3 days in Tokyo. It's enough to make LA feel downright stable.