Days 61-62 (March 2-3): Kobe, Kyoto, Nara

So I, Ric, am finally getting around to writing this blog late three days after our visit, and my aged memory is confusing the two days excursing in and from Kobe. Let me just post some photos here, then append my description plus some Road Scholar text. I'm combining the two days things here. Frankly I think my paragraphs are out of synch. 

Vending machines all over Japan are left unguarded all day and night yet are not broken into.

Buddhist gardens always involve water. Gorgeous gardens. How is upkeep paid for?

Lovely aged limbs.

A town below the temple with many women and men in traditional kimonos

You can set your watch by the bullet train.

Gilded palace. Royalty on top level, samurai on second level, I believe.

Across from one temple was shopping and it happened to be catering almost exclusively to dogs. Vas majority of dogs were small, suitable for small apartments.

Japanese graveyard snapped from bus.

Temple with carefully raked sand.

At least half of all bikes had the nice bike stand shown on left. I remember these from seventy years ago and like.

Beautiful temple and grounds.

Japan has parliamentary system of government. 

Japanese school girls obliged me with photo. The two-fingered peace sign is often flashed.

The mens' room is spotless. The sign says, "Please take one step closer."

I really don't know what the occasion was. Two women (mother, grandmother?) adjusted the lovely kimono.

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Here is text from the Road Scholar program description:

(First Kobe day) "From Kobe's pier we will begin exploring Kyoto by coach stopping at Kinkaku-ji Temple for an OUTSTIDE VIEW, we will not go inside.This elaborate building began life as a villa built by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa in 1397 during the Muromachi Period. Later, the house was converted into a temple. It is three stories tall with the second and third stories completely covered in pure gold foil."

"We will then visit Nishiki Market, where we will see local food and products. At a local restaurant.

"We will continue our discovery & visit the Heian Shrine -- a famous structure dedicated to Emperor Kammu, the founder of Kyoto, and to the Emperor Komei -- the last Emperor in Kyoto.

"Our final stop is at Kiyomizu Temple, which is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The main hall was constructed in the 17th century and is famous for its spectacular location, hanging over a cliff.

"After a panoramic drive through Kyoto, the coach driver will drop us off at Kyoto station. We will take an exciting high-speed train ride on the Shinkansen Bullet Train to Shin-Kobe station; then transfer back to the pier in Kobe."

The world's largest gilt bronze statue of Buddha is the first of many interesting sights that await us in the city of Nara -- a center of the Arts, literature and religion. Nara is home to a number of very impressive buildings and landmarks, as we will discover on today's excursion.

We will first visit The Daibutsu (Great Buddha) in the Todaiji Temple, the largest wooden structure in the world. Then we will continue to the Kasuga Shrine before stopping for lunch.

(Second Kobe day) "We will continue our field trip and visit the Horyuji Temple, the oldest in Japan, which contains some of the nation's rarest treasures. Additionally, it is reputed to be among the oldest wooden buildings in the world. Its inside walls are covered in clay images which depict the life of Buddha.