A first day in Kyoto, the place where I’m not allowed to take photos.

I’m sitting cross legged on a bench with no shoes on waiting to watch a video. The floor is freezing, I had to take my shoes off, and there are no slippers.

So goes visiting cultural sites in Kyoto. I’m currently in the Honmaru-goten Palace at Nijo-Jo Castle. It’s spectacular, I wish I could show you, but photography is prohibited practically everywhere. To be a photographer in Kyoto is like being a chef mid fast. Given the lack of photos, I will do my best to describe what I can with words and facades of buildings.

We began the day with a tour. We found another Kazu to be our guide and this Kazu was as good as the previous. We explored temples, shrines, and the Geisha neighborhoods while learning some of the history of Kyoto. Apparently, Kyoto is known even locally as having a lot of rules.

Our tour took us through Yasaka Shrine and Chionin temple. Shrines will often have many food vendors just inside the gate with all kinds of snacks to go. Shinto shrines are typically very orange, so the combination of the shrine and the brightly colored food vendors is a lot to take in.

At Chionin Temple we were able to light incense and make a prayer. Wafting the smoke over you from the incense is supposed to be good for wisdom and back and head pain. Upon hearing this, half of the group rushed over to the incense.

The shrines and temples here have lots of different ways to pray or perform a ritual and lots of charms you can buy. Most of them have very specific purposes and meanings and people will often go to a specific one with a specific problem.

We have been very lucky to experience almost no crowds at a lot of the places we visit. It’s cold and windy, but a photo of the steps where Tom Cruise filmed The Last Samurai with no people on it is a rarity (from what I hear).

Just walking along the streets here is an adventure. There is something hidden behind every corner and beautiful artwork everywhere. After our tour we explored central Kyoto. Eventually making our way to Nijō-Jo Castle.

The entrance gate is adorned with beautiful painted wood carvings. This gate is about the end of what I was allowed to photograph, but the castle was beautiful.

Nijō-Jo is where the Shogunate initially took power, and also where they were removed from power, so it is a place of immense historical significance. It was eventually converted to be an imperial residence, so it is decorated with painted walls depicting tigers and seasons and mountain ranges. Each room has its own theme. The grounds are also beautiful and the replanting was directed by Emperor Meiji.

The tigers painted in the tiger room are quite interesting. At the time that they were painted there had never been a tiger in Japan. The artists based their tigers on tiger hides and pictures of tigers that they had from China and Korea. The tigers are a little funky looking.

The end of our castle journey had this water spout. They really do incredible things here with cement.