Thursday 28th March

Had an excellent breakfast & then off at 8.30 to see a Shinto shrine in the suburbs. It had a fine gatehouse & the layout reminded us of a palace in Hoi An. In the courtyard there were stands which all had small wooden prayer cards, some in English.

Then on to Nijo-jo Castle, another large one in Kyoto. Built in the 17th century, by the first Shogun, it holds the palace from where he controlled Japan for the Emperors, as Kyoto was the capital until 1868 when it was moved to Tokyo. The main feature is the timber structure of the Ninomara-goten palace where the Shogun lived & gave audiences. Its internal walls are covered in fine paintings of various scenes to impress the visitors.

After a tour of the palace we walked in the gardens & returned to the coach which took us to Kinkakuji to see the Golden pavilion set in a lake amongst shrines. The building which was rebuilt 50 years ago after being burnt down & is covered in gold leaf which is impressive.

From there we drove on to Arashiyama on the river side. Here some of the party went to a tea ceremony & then on to dress in Kimonos whilst we ate & walked along the river bank before climbing up to the Bamboo forest. The temperature had dropped considerably & we were well rugged up against a cold wind under a very grey sky. On our return we saw some of the ladies in their kimonos & also many more locals formally dressed. One surprise was the sight of rickshaws which were taking some of the ladies for rides.

Returning to the bus we went back into Kyoto & walked to the huge station complex where we dined in one of the cafes under the station. We arrived back at our hotel at about 8pm well & truly exhausted.

Friday 29th March

Had a 3hr drive south west to the straits between the main island of Honshu & Shikoku the 3rd largest island of Japan. The road was amazing passing through many tunnels up to 4km & across high bridges spanning the valleys, all in excellent condition. The country side is heavily wooded.

After an early lunch at a café overlooking a suspension bridge to Shikoku we went down to take a ferry ride to see the whirlpool near the bridge pillars of the Naruto Strait where the Pacific meets the Inland Sea. The whirlpool occurs when the tides are at a certain level & are fairly pronounced. Our boat had 2 deck levels, the top being First Class for which there was a surcharge so we watched from the lower deck.

Then on to Shikoku-Mura, a wonderful open air museum of village life on the island in earlier times. This was quite fascinating as the houses & granaries had been brought from parts of the island & reconstructed on the side of the hill in lovely settings. The highlight was the suspension bridge with the cables made from platting the fine vines to cross a pond. All very Indiana Jones!!

Our last visit of the day was to the Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu. This was a huge pleasure garden of the local Samurai war lord's family for more than 250 years, before the Meiji restoration in 1868, when it became a park for all. It was truly magnificent & seemed so Japanese to us in the care with which it had been laid out & kept.

At about 6.45 we checked in at our hotel right on the harbour front on the 14th floor. Below us is the ferry terminal which carries vehicles & people to other parts.

We wandered around the area & ended up eating at a Tapas/Italian café, before turning in at the hotel.