Maybe it was the cold rain that started after lunch, or the 5 miles a day of walking, but I didn’t feel like doing anything yesterday. However, it was out last full day in Kyoto, and we still had a few things left on our to-do list. Luckily, we have pretty much mastered the subway, which runs very close to our apartment. Central Kyoto is only 1-2 stops away, which is easily walkable if you have not been walking non-stop for a week.
Anyway, we got a late-ish start yesterday, around 10am. We started off at the Kyoto imperial palace. We didn’t actually go into the palace – I think you need to arrange a tour in advance? But it is in a huge park (the national garden), which was nice. I thought it was a little odd that the palace itself is walled off, so you can’t even peak in. They must have some super-secret stuff in there.
From there we went to Nijo castle, which is more touristy. We got the audio guide, mainly because it was one of the few opportunities we’ve had to get explanations in English. Most of the places we’ve been so far have basic signs in English, but very limited explainations. So, the castle was nice, especially the gardens around it. It drizzled all afternoon and evening, but there is almost no wind, so we stayed dry under our umbrellas.
Today we are packing up and heading to Tokyo. Kyoto has been a great base, and it’s beautiful, but I am ready to move on to the big city. We’re a little leary of dragging our luggage on the Tokyo metro from Tokyo station to Shinjuku station but it won’t be rush hour, so hopefully we’ll make it through unscathed.