That first afternoon in Kyoto, John took a nap but I wandered off to Nijo-jo, a castle. The "-jo" is the word for castle. Castles in Japan are made of wood and don't really look anything like the European variety.
It was a pleasant 15 minute walk down the comfortable Kyoto streets and then this massive castle complex came roaring into my line of sight.
The first thing you see is one of the corner towers. There was a tree with lovely hot-pink blossoms in front, which made a good picture, I thought.
You walked through some very large and impressive tower gates and then saw the main reception area of the castle complex, with the Ninomaru Palace at the center. Ninomaru was the Palace for receiving visitors.
The detail of the painted carvings above every doorway was so beautiful.
After taking a tour of that building, I explored the courtyard. There were a pair of bells, with dragons at the top.
I wandered out to the garden, which was at one side of the reception area. There was this odd, straw sculpture there. And of course, the ubiquitous lantern.
Wandering on further, there were dozens of other large buildings, all exquisitely decorated, and acres of park. The buildings were called the Honmaru Palace, which was the more private area of the castle.
It was so magnificent. And you didn't feel as though you were in the middle of a large city. Kyoto has 1.5 million people.
Nijo-jo was built in the 16th Century and was used as the headquarters for official business and as a residence for the Tokugawa Shoguns while they were in Kyoto. If you ever get a chance, go see it.
Here is a copy of the castle map, so that you can see how large the complex is. And note that the whole thing is surrounded by a moat.
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