We were HOT! The temperature wasn’t the problem really…the humidity was extreme and we all felt it. Truly it was hard to just walk in the face of this weather. Our visits today were to the Nijo Castle of the shoguns, the Tenmangu Temple Crafts Market, and then on to Kinkaku-ji.
Today we had to take busses around the city. The nice thing about the bus system is that it goes right to your destination; the problem is they are absolutely packed with people…I mean squeezed into the small space of the bus. You didn’t dare sit down because you’d probably be there for a week.
The Castle visit was good and tempered by the heat. We made it through and saw the remarkable screen paintings, the incredible architectural design, and the massive walls and motes surrounding the entire castle.
From there we hopped on Bus 50 for the Kitano Tenmangu Temple Arts and Crafts Fair. So many people and we stayed for just an hour as the heat really started to take its toll on us all. We decided to finish our day at Kinkaku-ji rather than continue to Ryoan Zen Garden. The group divided into the Monkey People and the folks who needed a rest.
The Monkey People…those who wanted to see the Monkeys were DENIED by an early closure for the park. Instead, they went to the Bamboo Forest and wandered around Arashiyama.
I’ll come back to this page and write more about the day…right now, I want to get this page out to the folks!
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