Aoi Matsuri

We awoke early this morning and walked the 3 kilometers to the Imperial Villa. We toured the grounds for a while, then staked out an excellent viewing spot for the Aoi Matsuri. We were not really certain what to expect. It turned out to be a parade of people in old costumes. The people of Kyoto have been doing this parade for a very, very long time.

The entire procession took about an hour to pass our vantage spot. The participants had a five hour trek ahead of them under a hot afternoon sun, decked in layer upon layer of heavy fabrics, with stops for special ceremonies at two shrines. We went for ice cream. It was cool and refreshing.

Afterwards we headed over to Kinkakuji - the Golden Pavilion. It was very gold. And busy. While the gold leaf on the temple was impressive to behold, the moss gardens around the palace were much more enjoyable.

And you can always tell when you have reached the end of the tour, because a gift shop and ice cream kiosk awaits. We bought some souvenirs from the Golden Pavilion kiosk - not one of which had anything to do with a golden pavilion - then ventured off to Ryoanji temple.

Ryoanji temple is famous for its rock garden. And I must admit, the rocks were really impressive. They remained still for our pictures with the austere gravity and dignity that only a rock can muster. The gravel around the rocks was superbly raked. The entire experience was tranquil. We headed on.

Our third stop proved impossible to get to by transit. After some struggles with the bus system, we finally gave up on visiting Power Ranger world at the Toei movie park. Kyoto theatre was doing a presentation of Osamu Tezuka world (remember Osamu Tezuka? this is a paragraph about Osamu Tezuka) and we decided to travel there instead. Sadly, the presentation was not really a presentation so much as a gift store. With tears in our eyes and an expensive Astro Boy key chain in my pocket, we headed off into the sunset to find a computer and write our blogs.