My trip to Kyoto
was supposed to take the whole day. I would ride the Metro at 6 AM to arrive
there past 7 and have enough time for breakfast and some walking and whatever
it is that needed to be done. I rode the MRT at 12:55 after a quick lunch at
Yoshinoya. Should I even reiterate this on every blog post I am going to make?
My case is hopeless, okay. Sleep is more of a priority for me. Sightseeing
takes the backseat! WTF. After the train transfers I arrived at Nijo Castle at 2:15
PM, which gave me just enough time for a rushed tour because they close at 4
PM. Yipee! Amazing Race Kyoto!
I love Japanese
castles. I love how simple they all look like compared to Chinese Palaces in
their usual bright red and gold and their screaming “Look at me, I’m a Palace!”
kind of vibe. Japanese castles seem to follow nature as its theme. The exterior
would most likely be brown with some golden embellishments here and there.
Inside, the walls are painted by an established artist with motifs still in
touch with nature, mostly trees, the green of which complement the general
brown of the entire castle. It looks so peaceful inside and it gives you the
illusion that you are actually outside, but with the security of the walls
surrounding you.
The floors are squeaky,
which is said to be intentional to avoid spies. With all the noise it made I
could say that it would be pretty hard indeed to sneak in undetected. I would
have loved to take pictures and videos inside but the message was clear
on every corner: NO PHOTOGRAPHING, with matching images of a handycam and a
camera crossed out with a large red bar. I also believe that the place is under
heavy surveillance. You might just find yourself at the administration office watching a video of yourself
taking a video if ever you are caught. And not
like in China, people here actually take the warning seriously. Had there been
at least one who dared to pull out a camera, I would have also done so.
There are numerous
gardens inside the castle grounds and if you love ponds and plants touring all
of them would probably eat up most of your time. The good thing is that I went
there on a summer. The trees had boring green leaves. It would have been a
different story if it was autumn, I would have stayed there all day and
returned the next day. I am yet to see for myself those beautiful trees on fire
with red, orange, and yellow leaves as shown on some TV shows. This is not my
last time in Japan anyway. I will make sure that I would come back and the next
time I do it would be in the autumn.
How could I forget
to mention that this is a World Heritage Site! Yes, it is. So that adds a
little something extra to your trip. Make sure you include this one on your
itinerary. I think it is the better choice if pitted against the Osaka Castle.
No offense meant. That one is gorgeous too but not as well preserved as Kyoto’s
Nijo. What I mean is that Osaka’s Castle is more of a museum and a park. Kyoto’s
Nijo is more like a trip back to the past, not a mere tourist attraction.
To end this, make
sure that you go up the steps somewhere at the northwest side of the area.
There are benches there are the height gives you a wonderful view of the castle
grounds and the moat!
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