Still in Kyoto!

So, we just left off with Kiyomizu-dera

We took another cab over to Kyoto Imperial Palace at the recommendation of a local.
Before going in the imperial palace, I found a store that is ALL vending machines and I felt compelled to share.




Apparently the Imperial Palace grounds were open to the public, and this is something they only do ONCE a year so this was a special event.

Kyoto used to be the captial of Japan up until the late 19th century when the emperor got a promotion and relocated to the Tokyo branch where the current Royal family resides.

It was pretty much a walking tour, so this ain't an edumakation lessin. You go get your learnins elsewhere lest I whup you upside the head.


It was evident from the time you stepped on the castle grounds that they'd spent a long time making it look authentically Japanese


Do not cross this bridge. If you do, you die.


See, cause the bridge leads to an island of death. The stone statue on the left is a death marker. I think. Jesus, that joke didn't go off well...


One of the main entrances to the interior palace.

What's really odd about the Palace is that they judge how large it is based on the number of rooms in the palace. The Imperial Palace was a record breaking 16 rooms!
I know, sit down, it's a bit unnerving. 16 rooms. What to do with all that space?

Entertain of course!


These are fake people, not real people as you would hope.


An explanation as to what's going on in that picture above.


The entrance to the gravelarium


Parking for this lot was $35, so it's no wonder it's empty.


Beat up old shed where the emperor used to keep his lawnmower and hedge trimmer.

So, from there we left and headed over to our final destination of the day.

Kinkakuji.

I might have blogged this picture before, I dunno, but here it is again.

Kinkakuji is a globally recognized temple. Why? Cause it's damn gold, foo!






Don't go chasin' these...

These temple grounds usually wind around for a bit, as did this one.

We went up behind it to get a better vantage point, but the sun wasn't having any of it. We got no good shots from that angle.
So we went back down the other side and found a tea shop that was selling gold cakes and tea. We dropped the 500Y to find out what gold cake tasted like.

Gold cake is made of bean jam paste and plum. And covered in gold leaf.

Sadly the tea was Green Tea and had no gold in it whatsoever. This left me with a bad taste in my mouth over the whole affair.

I needed a delicious golden beverage right then and there.

WELL... Right on the other side of the Teahouse, we found my answer.


It tasted like Red Bull.

After our crazy crazy day tour of Kyoto, we decided to head back to the hotel and grab some dinner before settling in on a long night of drinking and passing out.

We settled on a restaurant named "Bikuri Donki"


They offer a fine selection of Salsburied meats.

Bikuri Donki has large menus.


The menu is basically a set of window shutters with a menu inside of it.


You can peruse the full size menu here. Maybe then you can question why they'd only put two strips of cheese on this thing and call it a cheese hamburg. Or why they offer it curried with a fried egg or god knows whatelse.

Anyway, it was a fantastic day and a great last day in Japan. Please forgive me for tripping so far ahead, but I'm just recalling what I can sporadically.


I think next time, if I can remember to get all the extra stuff, it'll be time to take you to Super Potato.