It is only three and a half hours by shinkansen from Himeji to Tokyo, but today was a full day since we decided to stop in Kyoto en route. It definitely was not enough time to see such a city, but we got a nice taste of it. After picking up some lunch and storing our bags at the enormous train station, we headed over to the Imperial Palace. It was closed, we assumed because it was Monday, but now that I think about it, I wonder if it’s still in use and ever open to the public. Nonetheless, we enjoyed strolling around and sitting in the huge park surrounding the palace. Despite being in the center of Kyoto, the park was quiet and peaceful.

From the palace grounds, we headed over to Nijo Castle, which covered the area of several city blocks and had a scenic moat surrounding it. Inside we checked out the main palace. It was a pretty interesting place with lots of original stuff inside. Perhaps most interesting were so-called nightingale floors, designed to squeak when walked on so residents would be aware of the comings and goings of visitors (they really “chirp” rather than “creak”). Though the original 16^th century paintings adorning the interior screens are housed in the neighboring museum, the reproductions were still stunning. We also walked in one of the several gardens surrounding the castle, before heading back to Kyoto Station to catch our train. Reading back over this, I realize that my writing is incredibly brief and lacking the depth that comes with details. But perhaps that’s most appropriate for our brief look at Kyoto.