I woke up fairly early this day and got a good start on the day and decided to not waste any time on my last day to visit things. I felt that I did Nara justice, at least the sentral part, so I concentrated only on Kyoto today.
I started the day's adventure at Kinkaku-ji (Kinkaku Temple). Kin is the Japanese word for gold, so just as Ginkaku-ji was the Silver Pavilion, Kinkaku-ji is the Golden Pavilion. It was originally built to be a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. After his death, his son made it into a temple. However, in 1950 a crazy obsessed monk burned it to the ground. It was completely rebuilt in 1955, and the gold foil that originally only covered part of the pavilion was extended to the entire building.
This is the only picture I have of myself for the whole trip. Too bad it didn't turn out very well.	If you get it in the cup, I guess you get a wish granted
The Golden Pavilion	I can feel the wa
Next stop was Kitano-Tenman-gu (shrine). Founded in 947, it enshrines the Heian scholar and statesman Sugawara-no-Michizane, who is regarded as the Deity of Learning. In the spring, it is supposed to have beautiful plum blossoms. Also, on the 25th of every month there is a huge outdoor market held here where over 1000 stalls sell various goods and souvenirs.
I left the shrine, started walking through the city, and proceeded to get myself lost. After a few minutes, though, I ran into a train station, looked at the map, and thought, "Well, let's give it a shot." After getting on the train, I found it on the map and saw that it was actually leading me to me next destination, Ryonaji Temple. I had to hike through some deserted residential areas on my way from the train stop to the Temple, but I made it there with little hassle.
Ryoan-ji (Temple) is one of the great Zen temples of Kyoto, or Japan for that matter. Ryoan-ji is most well known for its rock garden
Lilypads and a duck	This lake was a nice place to see leaves
One of the rocks in the rock garden	The saying is that no matter where you stand around the garden, you can only see 14 of the 15 stones at any one time.
This is a small model of the entire garden	More of the lake
Afterwards, I made my back to the station area and visited Nijo-jo (Castle). Nijo-jo was built in 1603 to be the Kyoto residence of Shogun Ieyasu. It was designed on a grand scale to emphasize the emperor's declining importance and the Shogunate's increasing power. Ieyasu had "nightengale floors" installed, which squeak at every step (don't visit here if you are paranoid about your weight. Actually, many of the temples in Kyoto also had nightengale floors.) The palace rooms were very segregated according to rank. The further you went into the palace, the less flashy and more artistic the paintings became. This was because Ieyasu wanted to wow those of lower rank, but show those of higher rank (who were the only ones permitted in the more central rooms) his artistic spirit.
Unfortunately, photography wasn't permitted anywhere inside the castle for the most part, so I can't show you what it looked like inside, but it was extremely interesting. There was a special exhibit there to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the construction of the palace. Some parts of the castle generally not open for public viewing were open because of the anniversary. I got to go up into the main gate and look down from the top and also visit a kitchen area which was used to show off some of the history of the castle. I could go on for a while about the history of the castle, but it's kindof long. If you want to know more, feel free to email me.
The view from the tope of the gate	Part of the palace
This is a picture of a screen made when the Emperor visited the Shogun in 1626
After spending a lot of time at the castle, I thought I would be super touristy and take a trip to the top of Kyoto Tower. Kyoto Tower is located directly in front of the Kyoto station. It is 100 meters (328 ft) tall. This tower is somewhat unique, as it doesn't use any conventional steel frames. It has 22 tubular steel sections that are welded together. It is designed to withstand the pounding of a 90 m/s typhoon or the strongest earthquake to ever have hit Japan.
The view from the top, not sure what I'm looking at here...	...or here...
However, this is a view of Nijo-jo
While in Kyoto, I stayed at the Nashinoki Inn. It is run by a friendly older Japanese couple that speak a little bit of English. The view from my room is at the right. If you are planning a stay in Kyoto, I highly recommend staying there. The rates are reasonable and the curfew is late. Also, they have traveled the world over and have spent considerable time studying Egyptian Hieroglyphics. The pictures below were of the postcards from Egypt they gave me, as well as how my name would be written in hieroglyphics.
This is one of the postcards they gave me.	And another...
This is how my name would be written in hieroglyphics
Well, as all good things, my trip to Kyoto had come to an end. I had an absolutely wonderful time there and I hope that I will be able to visit again. If you have the opportunity to visit or travel within Japan, you have to visit the sights of Kyoto. If you have any questions about my trip or what I saw or what I would recommend, don't hesitate to email me.