Day in Kyoto

Today was actually kind of lazy.  We got a day pass for the local buses and hopped on the first bus we saw without a line.  We actually didn't do much today.  We had intentions of seeing great things, but for some reason, that didn't happen.  We saw one shrine, visited the Kyoto Handicraft Center (where I bought 2 wood block prints), and did NOT see the Imperial Palace in Kyoto (but no one else can see it either).  Until we arrived at the Imperial Palace, I wasn't aware that we wouldn't even be able to see it.  A guard at the gate and a high fence protected the palace and other buildings.  While we didn't see many sights today, I must note that the weather was less than ideal.  It actually started to snow while we were at the Heian Jingu Shrine.

Heian Jingu Shrine

The circumstances of the snow were unusual in that the sun was shining.  It seemed odd that snow was floating down while the sun was out.

Heian Jingu Shrine

 After we left the shrine, we popped into the Kyoto handicraft center to warm up and possibly find some souvenirs.  We walked out with only my two wood block prints.  The day was so cold that all I wanted to do was get on a bus going towards our next location, the Imperial Palace.

We arrived at the palace a couple of bus stops later.  The snow and clouds had picked up a bit, and the wind was strong and chilling.  The park area surrounding the Imperial Palace was windier than other areas in Kyoto, perhaps because this space was more open.

Realizing there wasn't much to see at the Imperial Palace, we traveled to the castle, Nijo-jo.  Unfortunately, because of the New Year holiday, the hours had been reduced for today, and we were about 30 minutes too late.

Near Nijo Castle the snow became much heavier.

Maybe everything worked out for the best, because the snow became heavier and I'm not sure how enjoyable the experience would have been in the cold, wet snow.

The time was still early, but we were tired and cold.  We took a bus heading to Kyoto Station, but hopped off when we saw one of the temples on the UNESCO World Heritage list.  A service was going on when we arrived.  Monks were chanting and locals were seated watching.  We sat down and watched for the last few minutes.

Nishihonganji Temple

As the temple was closing, we left and boarded another bus headed toward the train station.  Underneath the Kyoto station and occupying some of the space underground surrounding the station were shops and passageways, an subterranean city of sorts.  Tokyo had some of these underground "cities" too.  It's actually insane how far you can walk underground in Tokyo.  We probably walked around a mile underground in Tokyo once.  

In the "city" under the train station in Kyoto, we found hot chocolate at a Starbucks.  Having read that an amazing view of the city (the above-ground part) exists on the top floor of the station, we took a dozen escalators to reach the vista point.   

View of the station from the top floor.  This part of the station was open air.  

View of the city from the top floor of the train station.

Since the temperature was so low, we didn't stay very long, but long enough to take a few pictures and soak up the city at night.