Hey Y’all!! Happy long weekend and I hope you are doing well. The hubby and I returned from our trip to Kyoto last night. The city was relaxing and cold. There were flurries almost everyday and though it was in the low thirties the whole time it was nice walking around weather. We saw multiple shrines, temples and castles and enjoyed our lovely hotel, The New Miyako.
When you go to mainland Japan there aren’t as many signs of America as there are in Okinawa. Yes there is McDonald’s (where isn’t there really), Starbucks and the odd and end familiar name but for the most part, mainland Japan is very foreign. I think the best way to explain to an American the difference in the two cities on mainland Japan that I have visited is Kyoto is to Tokyo as Washington, D.C. is to New York City. Kyoto was the capital of Japan for one thousand years until the Imperial Palace and Japanese government were moved to Tokyo at the end of the nineteenth century. Due to it’s thousand year long term as Japan’s capital, Kyoto is filled with ancient temples, monuments, shrines and the original Imperial Palace (where the Royal Family still goes for select ceremonies). Tokyo is a high energy, never tiring, and intoxicating city where Kyoto is slower paced, cradled in the valley of protective mountains and full of a history that tells the story of a great people.
I will be going through our pics soon and will share some with you here. I am also going to get back to “The Pillars of the Earth” and try to make a big dent in it before the end of the month when I will post the new voting poll for our March/April book.
Planet Books 