We had planned a boat ride down the Hozugawa River but they is rainy and the river ride has been cancelled 4 days in a row because of the high river.   Instead we took the train up to Arashiyama area to see the bamboo forest and the kimono forest.   The Sakura trees were beautiful!, and this variety was more pink.

The kimono forest is actually poles covered with beautiful kimono fabric surrounding the train station there!

Just a few yards farther we visited the gardens for the Tenryu-ji Temple.   Again the flowers were spectacular

Many of the flowers were labeled for us!  Camilla, Azaleas Rhododendrums, and of course,  the Sakura trees

From there, we walked the bamboo forest trail,  which was pretty packed with people, but there was a small Shinto Shrine there so we stopped there as well!

  Two Goshuin for this 1 walk!  We do pay for each stamp about $2-3 each but this will be a unique souvenir.

After battling the crowd we opted to see a temple where there was another bamboo forest walk,  less known and less crowded.  I’m so glad we did!  it was beautiful as well. Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple, founded in the 8th century.   It was a Funiary place where there are 8000 stone images and pagoda  representing individuals who died without kin.

These may be plum blossoms,  I’m not sure,  but beautiful

Again we got our Goshuin books stamped

Even our ticket into the temple gardens was stamped! 

The bamboo forest walk was steps and much less crowded.  At the top were more Graves,  many quite elaborate.

Well worth the trip.  

We took another taxi to the Golden Pavilion about 20 minutes away.  

From every angle it was outstanding!

On our way home, by bus,  we stopped at the Kyoto National Garden and the ancient Imperial palace.  It was closed, but we did walk along the grand avenue thru the park, and down to the Nishiki Market for a snack.

The day was long, almost 7 miles walking!  and the rain started coming down harder,  so we took a taxi again to dinner.   it was a delicious dinner,  where you order the meat and grill it on the hibachi grill on the table.

Our walk home along the street with Sakura trees lit from below was magical!

So far, Kyoto has not disappointed!

Since we had no particular schedule today and our only responsibility was to get to Kyoto this evening,  3 is us decided to take the bus and explore Nara a little more.   We took the city loop bus and headed for Nara Park again,  this time to walk the last few 100 yards to see the Kasugataisha Shrine.   What a great park and beautiful morning walk.

The shrine

We mentioned our Goshuin before.   Here our is being signed by a lady

A goshuin is a unique, hand-brushed stamp or seal obtained from Japanese temples and shrines, serving as a sacred testament to a visitor’s pilgrimage. Each stamp features artistic calligraphy indicating the site’s name, the date of visit, and a red stamp.

walking into the shrine area we were able to witness a ceremony and hear a bit of the chant

We left after a great noodle lunch for our train ride to Kyoto.  Our lodging here in Kyoto is a Machiya.  In fact. our lodging is on a lovely old neighborhood of these machiya.

Machiya are traditional wooden townhouses found throughout Japan, particularly in Kyoto (known as kyomachiya), that historically served as both merchant residences and places of business. Dating back centuries, these two-story, narrow structures often feature tatami rooms, interior gardens, and, following renovations, modern amenities like luxury baths and kitchens, offering a blend of historic charm and contemporary comfort for travelers.

And it comes with robes! 

We left Osaka today for Nara, to visit the park,  the amazing deer,  and the Temple.   it is the Todaiji Temple,  oldest Buddhist temple in Japan with a large bronze Buddha inside.   We entered first thru this large gate

We had scheduled an E-bike trip,  but it might have been optimistic of is to try it.   we actually didn’t make the full tour and missed the shrine at the top of the hill,  as we were just to exhausted to continue.  However it was an amazing place. 

  The deer are wild and go back up the mountain in the even,  appearing again about 6 AM each morning.   However,  they have learned to now to receive a cracker!  Very entertaining!  There are about 2000 of them!

The temple contains the largest Buddha inside a building in Japan.   it isn’t the largest overall, but the largest found inside a temple.

At the exit we were able to get another goshuin, the signature stamps and calligraphy for this shrine associated with the temple. Emmett was able to video the process.

With the Sakura 🌸 Cherry blossoms in full bloom, the park was absolutely beautiful!

There are blossoms everywhere right now, from 3 varieties of Cherry trees,  some more pink than others.

The tour included a stop at a knife maker,  a700 year old business.   They have us a small sweet cake with a cream filling shaped like a deer.  

Our hotel is an Onsen, with a natural spring so we were able to soak,  relax,  and refresh after our tour!  We then found a very Japanese style restaurant for dinner. 

Our dinner restaurant had the tables separate in tatami-like room,  with awell under the table for our legs.   We didn’t need to sit crossed legged,  thank goodness.  We ordered several tempura dishes,  edemame, and a rice dish all to share.

The day was long,  the bike ride was tough,  and we were all beat!  Thankfully tomorrow is a quiet day,  just a train ride as we move on to Kyoto! 

Everywhere,  markets in foreign countries are interesting places to visit.   Our next stop was  Kuromon Market,  200 years it had served the community near Namba in  Osaka.

A curious enjoyment for mostly Japanese men is pachinko parlors, where they sit for hours and play this pinball game

We had a little lunch there. a Sashimi, rolls. and udon noodle soup!

Our last visit of the day,  we decided to find the Umeda Sky tower which has an observation Deck on the 40th floor with a ride, via glass elevator, to the 35th floor, escalator 4 more floors up and another stairs the 40th floor, which cost 2000 yen to visit.   We opted for just the free ride as far as the 39th where there are restaurants and shops.   That bite was high enough for us!

The model of the building,  chosen as one of the 20 top buildings by a British Tribune.  Pretty impressive!

The views from the glass elevator,  through the structure and from the top

The escalator was also glass!  Up and down from floor 35, 150 meters high,  to the 39th

it was a nice place to visit, with a shop,  restaurant and lounge.

The view from the ground lying up at the observation area between the 2 towers.  You can see the escalators clearly and the circle above is the 40th floor

Enough adventure for the afternoon.   We headed back to our hotel for a rest before dinner! 

We decided to visit our first couple of shrine and begin our collection of Goshuin, shrine stamps.  Our first shrine was Namba Yasaka Jinja, a favorite of students,  studying for exams.  Maybe it scares away the bad grades?

We purchased the Goshuin book and you receive a page to stick in it or a page of red stamps and black calligraphy at each shrine.   Our book reflects the shrine we visited first!  There we only got a page to glue in.

Our second shrine was a small one with a Buddhist temple there as well,  Hosen-ji Temple,  where we received a beautifully hand written stamped page.  This temple has a moss ridden statue that everyone throws water on top keep it mossy!

our third was just a narrow ally way of Dotonbori, but no stamp there.

Collecting these pages make an interesting souvenir of the many Shrines we will visit on this trip!  I will add more as we visit them.

After our wonderful walk to see the blossoms in the morning,  our visit to Osaka Castle,  and a great buffet lunch at the Doubletree with the view of the Castle,  we were tired!  We had a SCAN appointment for the afternoon.   Senior Citizen Afternoon Nap SCAN.  We are old.   we needed it!

But after a few hours resting we were ready for our evening outing!  We walked just a few blocks to the canal and the Dotonbori section for street food and the lights, sights, and people!

a few nibbles here and there.

Dotonbori is famous for its signs and lights

altogether a fun first full day in Japan!

Just a couple more day time photos

We all arrived last evening and we have it the cherry blossoms just before peak here in Osaka.   Emmett’s cousin Bert arrived first,  then our friend Cheryl Thoreen arrived just a few minutes after our flight and we took the train in together to our hotel in the Namba area of Osaka

Today we picked 2 areas for a walk to see the blossoms.  Kema Sakuranomiya Park, Andover our walk at Osaka Castle

We walked up to the castle but did not do the tour

Even the view from our lunch stop,  the restaurant at the Doubletree had a great view

The rain held off for a lovely walk! 

Today we visit the ancient capital of Siam,  Thailand, Ayutthaya.  It was established in 1350, and was the capital for  400 years.  It was attacked by Burma in 1767 and destroyed totally by fire so the king moved the capital to modern day Bangkok area. We visited the ruins of temples lWat Maha That and Wat Phra Si Sanphet.  The entire area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

On our way there, we stopped at the summer palace, still a beautiful location about an hour away from the city and the Grand Royal Palace,  however it is no longer used by the current king.  

Our last temple was a reclining Buddha, the largest in Ayutthaya.   Our farewell picture,  our last stop on SE Asia

Our lunch stop was authentic local Thai! Pad Thai with chicken and vegetarian,  and Satay. 

After our visit to the Royal Palace,  we took  the “ferry”, a long tail boat,  across the river and through some of the canals on the other side of the River.   Along these canals are many private homes,  some communities of families who have lived there 200 years.   We passed many wat, or temples also.  

In reality, many homes are very modest

This 200 year old neighborhood had converted some homes to cafes and is very popular to visit

We saw 3 water Monitor lizards,  from tiny, to 2 meters long!

Our ferry ride ended back in the river,  at the Arun temple across from the Royal palace

We had a lunch stop for Pad Thai. a pork dish,  and Mango sticky rice,  my favorite dessert.   with mango smoothie and iced coffee.   The temperature got up to 95° F , so the AC and cool dessert were refreshing

We were sitting close to some university students and I discovered they are studying Medical Technology!  I asked if we could get a picture together!

We finished the day at the Golden mountain.   it is a wat at the top of 344 steps!  Emmett was brave enough to go to the top,  but for me,  at 95° , it was toooo much!

The wat and Buddha and the View from the top

I like the sound of Buddhism better than the sounds of Islam

We are staying in Chinatown at the Grand China Hotel, and after arriving we found our room on the 16th floor was directly below a very loud bar. Thankfully there was another room available on the 11th floor!  Our tours beginning early.  We have 2 full full days of sightseeing in Bangkok, so I will post reach section of sightseeing separately. 

First stop is the Temple for the Grand Royal Palace.   Thailand is a constitutional monarchy since 1932, But had been ruled by 1 dynasty,  1 family of kings for over 200 years.  The queen mother passed away at 93 just 4 months ago.   The country will be in mourning for 1 year so there are pictures of her everywhere.

The Temple, or Wat has been built by the first king, of 10 kings, but especially by the 5th king.

All the gold is gold leaf, covering buildings and statues,  everywhere!  The Emerald Buddha is inside,  actually only about 26″ high and 19″ at the widest,  across his lap.

The 3rd king,  I believe it was,  built this reclining Buddha, 150′ long and 30′ high

After the temple,  we visited the public party of The Royal Palace.  It is not the Residence of the current king but the official home of the royal family.

Even in the Royal palace compound there are temples with Gold Buddha

Before we left the Royal Palace ground we were treated to a 30 minute Thai Massage.  I chose a for massage. Emmett got the whole Thai Massage.

On our way our we caught the changing of the guard!