The beauty and serenity of nature are important to Japanese spirituality. And we’ve experienced it in shrine and temple grounds; in parks and gardens, and on a hike in the Japanese Alps.
We’re a bit late for the cherry blossom bloom, which came early this year. But they’re still spectacular here and there . . .
Toyota is the top selling car brand here, just as it is in the U.S. And the cars are so tiny and cute; they look a little like clown cars.
I figure we couldn’t have these little guys at home for safety reasons. They’d be bug splat on the front of one of our large SUVs.
So many magnificent places of worship. We’re visiting both Shrines and Temples, and many Japanese do that too. They practice Buddhism at Temples, and their Shinto faith at Shrines, having two religions at the same time.
The two religions do complement each other in a sense. With Shinto focused on the here and now, and Buddhism on the afterlife, all bases are covered!
A highlight in Kyoto today was our visit to a magnificent bamboo forest. We learned that these stalks grow taller by a foot a day until, in a month’s time, they’re about 30 feet tall. Wow!
We’ll see so many shrines and temples here, but today was all about a castle. And the scale and craftsmanship of this one are truly amazing.
Brilliant white plaster coated Himeji Castle is located between Hiroshima and Kyoto, and it’s the most visited castle in all of Japan. It has stone walls, a moat and distinctive tiered and overlapping roofs, and its origins date to 1333.
It somehow reminded me of a most elaborate frosted wedding cake.
Yes, it’s just the start of my two weeks in Japan. It’s my fourth time here, and I couldn’t wait to get back. Ahead of our tour start, three of us today explored Nakazakicho, an off-path neighborhood of Osaka with narrow lanes, wooden houses, trendy shops and galleries and tiny coffee bars and eateries. I opted for a crepe and a Matcha latte!
