2017-04-16, Hikone Castle sakura, the last time...

Home (Hikone) to discontinue my phone and... to see the castle and the sakura one last time!

The Hirata River near my house.  Blooming earlier than usual.

The  castle and the moat.  There is nothing like sakura with a backdrop of the stone walls of the moat and the reflection of the water.  My favorite.

 

Aaaa.

We went to Yolo (about an hour away) for yakiniku.  Didn't really like this - tripe? stomach? Shioli likes it.

This Hida beef was good though.

Home to pack my little suitcase, the two big ones had already been sent to the airport with the great airport luggage service ($20/suitcase), to bed and up early for the train ride to the airport.  I started out on a 7:27am train and arrived in Monterey 29.5 hours later (thanks to a 5 hour delay in Seoul).  It was a VERY long day, and one of the most turbulent flights I've ever been on.  But I did take a quick tour from Incheon airport (just to get out) and I had one of the best Korean meals I've every had.  There was also a martial arts comedy show.  If you have to be stuck at an airport, Incheon is a good one.  There's even a roller/ice skating rink downstairs and a movie theater someplace.  A resting area, a cultural show, etc.

A 700 year old zelkova tree.

Really good noodles in a cold garlic vinegar broth with some grilled  meat.

Then home again.

Maybe to stay??

2017-04-16, Kyoto & Arashiyama (for the last time ??)

 Well, I don't know if I will be returning to Japan or not so I really wanted to go to Kyoto for what may be the last time (although given my track record it probably won't be).  The weather forecast was not good and it started raining as soon as I got out of the station.  But it was still pretty.  

The Kamo River is my favorite place to see weeping cherries (shidare zakura).  They are beautiful and there are nowhere near as many people as at the major sites.

 

 

 I know a lot of outdoor places to visit in Kyoto but no indoor places.  I have been to the Arashiyama area in the rain before and it was nice so I headed there.  But by the time I arrived the sun was out!  Yeh!  Even better.

Besides some UNESCO sites (temples) Arashiyama is also known for it's bamboo grove.
  It's beautiful.  It's so different than walking through a pine or sequoia forest.

 

About a week earlier and all these sakura would have been in full bloom.  The petals on the ground are very pretty too.

 I have been wanting to go to a Temple called Gio-ji which is known for it's moss.  I didn't go in the winter not knowing if the moss stays green all year (and because I don't like walking around in the cold).  It's a little to the north of the main area of Arashiyama, quiet and well worth the walk.

  

Loved this shelf made with roof tiles and wood.

 

  

This was amazing.  It looks like it's ceramic but it's made of metal and each drop of water sounds like a different musical note.  I'd love to have one of these in a garden.

 

tanuki

Next on to Tenryu-ji a UNESCO site.  I didn't go into the buildings and I think I've been to the garden before but not in the spring.  It was beautiful and a lot less crowded then I thought it would be.  Yeh!

Bamboo and rhodadendrom.

  

Snowing cherry blossom petals.

 

 

  

  

azaleas everywhere, and rhododendrons 

 

 

  

 

Then a thunderstorm.

Sashimi and sake.

My last stop was the Kyoto Imperial Palace.

 

 

And I had to have my favorite Kyoto ice cream (at the station) since it might be the last time...