We started today in Okayama station to take the bullet train to Kyoto. There we split off into taxis that drove us around the cities and the drivers worked as our tour guides as well.

We started off at Kyoto Castle, also known as Nijō Castle. No pictures were allowed inside, but it was originally built for the shogunate at the time, and because of this building, the capital remained as Kyoto. When the final shogunate gave power to the emperor, the capital was moved to Tokyo.

The building was made in a way to really reflect the power of the shogunate. Most rooms had raised floors made to show the shogunate's power over his subjects, and many paintings were big and stand-offish to show power. The castle has an interesting security measure where the nails in the floor creak in a way that is similar to the call of the nightingale. This was a clever way to see if any visitors (unwanted or wanted) were nearby. Although, further inside the building was more restricted to women, and not much for others not close to the shogunate. These areas did not have floors that created the creaking noise.

The tour guides we had said that these rocks were very famous and from other parts of Japan that the shogunate collected to decorate his pond.

This is the outside of the shogunate's castle, near the pond. 

This is an iconic picture because it includes both temples, the real one and the one in the water. The water is also intentionally muddy to show the reflection of the temple. 

Our tour of Kyoto continued at Kyoto's Golden Temple, or Kinkaku-ji. Sadly, the original one was burned on purpose by a monk trainee, but a replica was made that is very exclusive to get into. President Bush visited Japan and was able to go inside, according to my taxi driver, Dai-san. Another famous business man was able to go inside as well, so we concluded that if we are rich or famous, or rich and famous with a large donation, we can probably go inside.

The tip of the temple has a phoenix that also symbolizes rebirth and renewal. 

This was the servants quarters.

The temple has a unique bamboo fence on the side that is only for the Golden Temple and does not appear anywhere else. 

Afterwards, we all ate at a restaurant that specialized in vegetarian foods and tofu skin. 

Adeline drank all the tea, and I really mean ALL of it. No wonder she got full so fast. We even had to ask for tea from other tables. 

Afterwards was Ryoanji Temple, famous for its zen gardens.

This specific zen garden was created by a famous monk, Tokuho Zenketsu, around 1500 at the end of the Muromachi Period. It is a traditional zen garden with 15 rocks surrounded by white sand. However, the creator made this in a way that all 15 rocks cannot be seen by a single view, unless it is aerial view. Some speculate that because 15 symbolized perfection, he created this garden this way to show that one can never achieve perfection. 

There is a beautiful pond here with lily pads and also a bamboo fence special only to this temple. 

Something I am really interested in is Komorebi, which is a word I learned that represents the light that shines through the leaves. This temple is also known for its small maple leaves, which made the komorebi more special and stand out more. 

At the stairs before the temple, the number 2 taxi family came together to take a picture. (Front Row: Myself, Amanda Back Row: Adeline, Alvina) We call ourselves gia đình số một, which means family number one, as a joke because we are all Vietnamese and have been in the same taxi more than once. 

We were unable to take pictures inside the temple. So this is outside of the temple, and the main entrance where people of importance would most likely enter. 

Afterwards we left Ryoanji Temple and drove to a nearby outdoor mall. 

We hung around the riverbank across from the mall when we were done shopping and enjoyed the cool air.

Here is a panorama of the whole area. 

Adeline and I were talking about how at her host sister's cram school, a boy asked what kind of boy she liked. Adeline responded that she liked boys that were "Ikemen" who are often good looking and very kind. She also said that she liked boys who were smart. Upon hearing that comment, the teacher of the cram school said that smart ikemen did not exist, and everyone laughed. But we saw how kind and knowledgeable the taxi drivers were and saw how similar they actually were to ikemen themselves. Just an interesting thought we had. 

We boarded the bullet train bound for Okayama when time was close, and there we surprised Mr. Nielson with his favorite thing: Hello Kitty! Upon looking at his backpack that was falling apart, we all decided that he definitely needs a new one. So we all pitched in to get him a Hello Kitty backpack because we know how much he loves Hello Kitty. 

Mr. Nielson vows that he will never take it off. 

There are more pictures of this day still unshared, but I am sure that each student is eager to share them on the blog or write more entries sharing things that they have done.

- Tammy