Kyoto Day 3

This pretty much sums up the end of the trip. Lots of walking and traveling. We were pooped!

This is Bre walking on the "Philosopher's Path", pondering life.



This is the Silver Papillion, or Kinkakuji. The grounds were surrounded by elaborate sand/stone landscaping.

The picture doesn't do it justice, but these fish were the size of medium-sized dogs. Enormous!

Chase and I checking out the fish!

This is the outside gate to Nijo Castle. The grounds were surrounded by a moat. Nijo was very impressive. It was completed in 1626. This was the home of the shoguns and is located just south of the Imperial Palace. Unfortunately, we couldn't take any pictures inside the Palace, but their were intricate wood paintings and sculptures that impressed visitors with the power and wealth of the shoguns.

Kyoto Day 2

Chase loved the udon noodles. There were lots of people slurping all around us at this restaurant! We had udon and tempura that was delicious!

Arashiyama is on the western side of Kyoto and features the bamboo grove and beautiful nature trails and views.

The bamboo grove was one of our favorite places that we visited in Kyoto. It was so incredibly peaceful and serene. It felt like the kind of place to visit and get lost in your thoughts.

One of the many beautiful gardens outside one of the temple sites. The rocks were originally brought in to create these gardens and now they have huge trees and bushes growing on them. Add the koi and dry landscaping and you have yourself a great place for a Buddhist monk to meditate and ponder.

Overlooking the Golden Pavilion.

The Golden Pavilion, or Kinkaku-ji, was originally built in 1397. It has burned down twice, the last time being in 1950 when a monk with a mental illness lit the structure on fire and then tried to commit suicide. The top two stories are covered with pure gold leaf. The pond serves a reflective purpose and creates a majestic view from afar.

Kyoto Day 1

We are finally posting photos from our trip to Kyoto. Kyoto was the Imperial Capital of Japan from 794-1868. With 2000 religious places, including 1600 Buddhist temples, 400 Shinto shrines, palaces, gardens and other architecture intact, it is one of the best preserved cities in Japan.

This is the thousand Tori site. I don't know what the historical significance of this place was, but it was sure cool. Tori's usually mark the front of a Shinto shrine, and symbolically represent the transition from sacred to profane. This place in Kyoto had at least a thousand Toris. The walk goes for at least 2-3 hours if you do the whole thing (we walked for about 30 minutes, and then turned around as it was getting late).

This was To-ji temple. The pagoda stands 55 m tall and is the tallest wooden building in Japan. The temple itself dates back to 796. This was one of the many places I wish we could read Japanese. The temples were filled with Buddhist statues that looked like they were over a thousand years old. When we walked inside the pagoda, it smelled "old" if you know what I mean. It was surrounded by beautiful gardens with ponds filled with koi and turtles. The rain was a little bit of a bummer on the first day, but otherwise it was really awe inspiring.

This was the food I envisioned before moving to Japan. We found a couple of places where no one spoke English where Bre would duck her head inside of some wood doors and ask if we could eat there. Everyone was so nice and they loved Chase. We are sitting on the ground here with our shoes off of course. Chase is playing with his belly button in photo one while I am trying some tofu (the only thing I didn't like). The tempura, Spanish Mackerel, udon noodles and ramen were all delicious!

Few things in this world make Chase happier than birds. A nice Japanese man gave Chase some seeds to feed the pigeons.

The Japanese have "dry landscaping". This practice began centuries ago and is used to symbolically represent the environment. Zen priests often rake the sand to help their concentration.

This was the love stone at Kiyomizu-dera, another Buddhist temple. As the story goes, if you can walk between the two stones (18 m apart) with your eyes closed and find the second stone without help, you will soon find love. Chase cheated!

Some of the sites from Kiyomizu-dera, a Buddhist temple in Kyoto. The temple was built in the 700s, but the current buildings were restored in the 1600s. Still sounds pretty old to me! This was a gorgeous temple tucked into the forest in the hillside.

Chase Baseball Video

Here is Chase at a 21 1/2 months, showing off his baseball skills. He throws right handed, but seems to prefer batting left handed.

Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival

Gate to Hirosaki Castle Park.
Yummy, apple ice cream.

Right as we were crossing the bridge Chase says "ooh ooh" and then I said, "Tig, get the camera, get the camera". Out of no where a Swan appeared and was paving a path through the cherry blossom petals. Breathtaking.

Smells so good.
Now you smell it, Dad.
All the fallen cherry blossoms were turning the ponds a pretty pale pink.
Love this photo.
Tig caught me off guard "Enjoying the beautiful" as my Papa would say.
Nice picnic lunch, Dad napping, and Chase putting together his own cracker, cheese, and pepperoni sandwich.



The beautiful Hirosaki castle. Didn't make it inside since Chase was hungry for some lunch, but there is always next year.


Hirosaki was a 2 hour car ride from Misawa. Chase watched his Elmo videos the whole way there, but he was a little restless when we first got to the park which was understandable. So below is him giving us a "you've got to be kidding me" picture face when we first got to Hirosaki.