At last Blogger have got themselves sorted out so I can at least post...!

I did promise an update of my trip to Kyoto, but then work was really busy and then it was the choir retreat and then some situations at church came to light that incensed those of us with any sort of brain at all, and there ensued a storm of emails within the middle of which I found myself. As usual, where ever there is trouble I am bound to find it. Oh yes, and then Blogger decided to go all weird and not let me put up any photos...and what's a trip to Kyoto without the photos?! Why can I not just have a quiet life?! Anyway, I intend to write a rather long entry on all of that at a later date to coincide with the next Koinonia and direct everyone to my blog, as I will get my backside kicked if I name and shame in that, I am sure...

Back to Kyoto. The first day I was there, I met up with Yuko and Kuniko and went to Uji to see the (World famous) Byoudou-in which is on the back of the 10 Yen coin.

Now I had been wanting to visit this temple for a long time, ever since I picked up a postcard of it in a shop in Tokyo by chance... Looks rather stunning, doesn't it? Apparently, this main hall is called Phoenix Hall because, it looks like a Phoenix. Well, I've looked at it and I've looked at it and I just can't see it myself... .So, does it, or doesn't it, look like a Phoenix....? You decide...!

This, however is the sad reality of Byoudou-in on a dismal day that rained so much my jeans were soaked up to the knees... Now you can't tell me that photographers don't lie.... I was so disappointed, I nearly cried. On the upside, I did get to take the rather fabulous picture of the pink flowers and raindrops that we saw the other day...After the disappointment of the old non-Phoenix looking Phoenix Hall, we thought a short trip to the other side of the river might be in order. Where, according to Mary-of-the-uncommonly-good-sense, there are a few good shrines.

On the way there, I stopped to take this snap of a statue of Murasaki Shikibu who is credited with having written the first novel in Japan - Genji Monogatari, or "The Tale of Genji". Supposedly, it's a story about this absolute stud called Genji who was some sort of Prince, and his conquests in and around the Emperor's court. Or something. I read it -in English obviously- and I couldn't make head or tail of it. It is supposed to be an amazing work, perhaps it is better in Japanese, but I couldn't find much to get excited over as Genji cried all the time and wrote bad poetry as he propositioned all the women at court... Except that he never actually did anything with any of them at all. Baffling.

By the time we made it to the shrines, unfortunately, I only had the patience for one, which given the weather, was surprisingly packed, and we all know how I feel about crowds. I did manage to get this rather amusing picture though.

I was laughing hysterically while taking this, trying to explain in a way that was not vulgar, why I found it so humorous. Yuko, whose sense of humour is quite similar to mine was smirking while Kuniko explained to me absolutely deadpan, that this formation of sand is VERY difficult to achieve. I really think she had absolutely no idea why I found this "particular formation" so comical. I'll let you be the judge of its amusement factor. Unfortunately, I had to take it at an angle so you can't get the full effect. Still, it makes me snigger....!

There followed a rather damp lunch followed by a somewhat damper train ride back to Arashiyama where we picked up the sightseeing tram to go through the Sagano area. I wasn't feeling thrilled by the prospect at all, thanks to the rain which was still hammering down, however, it turned out that a rather mysterious mist came down over the hills and made the valley look spectacular. About half way down the line, a chap dressed as some sort of traditional demon-type got on and started raising havoc up and down the tram which caused a great deal of hilarity amongst the passengers, especially when he made the mistake of jumping off and the driver shut the doors on him and left him with no umbrella! After that, it was a bit late and I really didn't feel like trekking to Osaka and visiting the aquarium again, which had been the original plan, so we found a restaurant in Gion and holed up there for the rest of the evening.


Next day I was on my own as the others had to work, so I hopped on a train to Himeji. I have to say that I amazed myself with my ability to actually find the correct train as I have a rather bad record when trying to find things in Kyoto generally, so the day got off to a good - if slightly later than planned - start, so I was pleased. The castle is reasonably easy to find although in the distance, the sky looked like rain when I arrived and I decided that a visit to the castle park gardens would probably be in order before the rain set in, rather than afterwards! The last time I had visited Himeji, the gardens and the castle had been closed for the holidays despite the fact that their website did not tip us off; so I felt the need to visit again, even if they might not be up to scratch. Well, the gardens did not disappoint and I was rewarded for my efforts by some glorious views of the waterfalls and ponds all chock full of elegant carp. Obviously the fabulous views came with the expected price, there is one at every sightseeing spot: the Annoying-Video-Camera-Toting-(insert insulting adjective of your choice here)- and his wife. Now as people who have had the misfortune of travelling with me know, I am a photo fiend. I rarely take pictures of people (because I am crap at it) and I NEVER allow random strangers to interfere with my perfect shots. I have been known to wait 20 minutes to get a picture that I really wanted... In a sick sort of way it is very satisfying to wait and wait and then get exactly what you want. Although, it infuriates absolutely everyone who comes sightseeing with me! So there I was, enjoying a temporarily gorgeous day, by myself, not annoying anyone.... Patiently waiting until all the old ladies had wandered through the section of the garden I wanted to photograph and THEN...Cam-Man appeared and decided he had to video the entire garden. I kid you not. The most irksome thing about this was the fact that not having yet identified him as Cam-Man, I had in fact stepped aside to allow him and his wife, (sporting an equally large camera bag)- to pass me by so I would not be in their way! Obviously neither of them had the courtesy to say thanks, let alone return the favour. I will not make the computer blush by repeating my language at this point, but it was not pretty. I was furious. Oh and they took their sweet time, I'm almost certain they knew I was waiting and did they make any move to step aside or even move slightly faster? Did they heck as like.... Anyway, I had the last laugh by standing right in the middle of a bridge in the centre of the garden until they finally got bored of filming me, took my perfect shot and legged it.... The park was actually made up of several gardens of different themes and sizes, they all had beautiful flowers, some of which I photographed and some I didn't! The fish were nice, so were the turtles and the tea houses. The bamboo garden was not up too much but by the time I got round there, I really didn't mind as I had already had my fill of green stuff!

And so it was off to the castle - now, as I rounded the corner I found myself confronted by the sightseer's horror of all horrors. Yes - the tour bus. And not just one. I thought a shopping break may be in order and went snooping around the copious souvenir shops, trying all the free samples for 45 minutes or so before deciding that it was safe to brave the castle. Having sneakily bought the "Castle and Gardens combo ticket" and saved myself about 400 yen and a lot of time in the queue, I was feeling rather smug and took the opportunity to stroll, rather than belt it, up the fairly long hill to the castle. On the way, I found myself at the back of a large group of people (mostly women and children) cooing and fluttering over something on the path. Of course I had to have a look and it turned out to be a bloke with two prairie dogs in tow. On leashes and dressed in ridiculous outfits, they did tricks and sat up when commanded to .... How very strange. I wasn't sure I really approved, but they were sweet so I took their pictures.

Leaving the ladies still oohing and aaahing over the poor creatures, I carried on to the castle keep. From a distance, Himeji Castle is very impressive; my students insist it looks like a heron but I really don't see it myself... It is, however, the genuine article and is now, as it was in the 18 whatevers. The view from the top was great - well worth the arduous climb up all the steep wooden stairs but inside the castle was less inspiring since everything has been removed and there aren't any reconstructive pictures or an audio-guide so I found it rather difficult to imagine what the place had looked like when it was up and running. I could have waited for an English speaking tour guide, but really, who can be bothered when you've already been walking around on a duff foot for 2 hours...?! I tell you, the amount of painkillers I consumed that weekend was obscene, but, I'm still standing!!! Eventually managed the death-defying descent of the stairs, which seemed much steeper than on the way up and decided that I simply had to see the West Bailey which is where Princess Sen lived, before going off to Osaka. It was totally dull. A long line of inter-connected rooms that, again had no pictures and not much information. I'm glad I went but I wouldn't go again... That all took much longer than I had anticipated so my trip to The Aquarium was foiled again. I had been before though, so I wasn't overly disappointed and staggered off to meet Kuniko for dinner. This post is long overdue though, so the rest of the trip will wait until tomorrow...