The shrine next door.

Yes it's been over a month since we returned from Japan.  But as you've noticed I'm still writing about the trip.  That's because as I catalog all of my photos and mementos from our visit to Asia, I'm realizing how many things I didn't have time to write about while I was there. So there may be a few more posts about Japan.  Posts like this noting that in Kyoto, you can't walk very far without running into a shrine.  In fact, as you stepped outside the entrance to our Ryokan, you just had to turn right and you ran into this, the Yasaka Shrine:

Missing the modern art.

While biking through Kyoto, we took a detour to the National Museum of Modern Art.  This was a museum that was surprisingly sparse when it came to art.  But maybe that's because there were no special exhibits open at the time we were there.  And while there wasn't much in the way of Art that inspired me, it did offer a couple of inspirational things including something for the bicycle fans.

First, there was this spectacular view of one of the best Japanese gates I saw on the whole trip.

But my favorite thing at the museum was a delightfully placed sculpture outside the museum.  In a brilliant bit of curating, there was a sculpture right behind the bicycle parking area.

This is Bird in Cloth Saddle, a 1974 sculpture by Makio Yamaguti.  And it does look like a bird and a bicycle saddle.

Although I'm not positive of the title.  The marker seems to read Bird in Croth Saddle and someone added the "l" later.  Is it just me, or does that seem like someone making fun of an Asian accent, "did you see that bird in a croth saddle"?

Whatever you call it, it's some fantastic Art-world whimsy.

Battle of the all-star Imperial Palaces.

Is it a coincidence that Kyoto and Tokyo are comprised of the same letters?  To me it seems like it was written in the stars.  Both cities have been the capital of Japan; Kyoto in the past; Tokyo in the present.  Both boast ideologies that are quintessentially Japanese: Kyoto more traditional, Tokyo more modern.  And both have some pretty damn impressive imperial palaces.  We visited them both and here's a rundown of the two.

Kyoto's Imperial Palace requires permission from the imperial family to visit.  So be sure to get your papers before hand.  We didn't know this but lucked out as we arrived just minutes before the last English tour of the day and there were still a couple of spots available.  Although once again I didn't understand the complexities of Japanese paper work which elicited several dramatic eye rolls from our helpful Imperial Palace worker.

Kyoto's Imperial Palace offers a sense of tradition that inspires the imagination. I felt like I was in one of the epic Japanese art house movies. The palace burned down and moved repeatedly in the same general area since the 12th Century.  This latest version dates from 1855.  It was abandoned in 1869 when Japan's imperial family  moved the Edo, changed the city's name to Tokyo, and made it the capital.

If you're looking for cool, traditional Japanese architecture, this is a good place to start.  I loved the epic scale of the wide open gravel court yards and entry ways surrounded by endless lengths of building covered with amazing cypress roofs.  Yeah, I now may know more about traditional Japanese cypress roofs that you could possibly want to know.

Everywhere you looked there were interesting shapes and patterns.  The gables were amazing as were the bold graphic shapes and patterns created by painting the ends of dark beams with white paint.

As is frequently the case, some of the most interesting areas of this Japanese landmark are the gardens. It came as no surprise that this garden was built in the middle of the 19th Century.  They had an exotic romanticism that you often see in the Asian-inspired paintings of European Romanticists. They were lovely.  Our guide told us that when the royal family lived at this residence, a favorite party game was to float small boats, each with an individual glass of Sake down the garden's streams. Party goers had to write an original Japanese poem of a very specific length before the boats reached them in order to retrieve one of the drinks.  Sounds like a lot of fun.

The Tokyo Imperial Palace is currently the home of the Emperor of Japan.  It is built on the area that was previously the Edo Castle. This large park houses a number of buildings including the main residence.  As is the often the case, most of the buildings have either been destroyed in earthquakes or burnt in fires.  So most of the buildings of the Tokyo Imperial Palace are relatively new, completed in 1968.  I'm older than that.

The walk from Tokyo Station to the Palace is magical thanks to an entire forest of carefully formed pine trees.  I wouldn't have been surprised to find a Teletubby or two lurking about.

Here are photo of Felix and Me getting about as close as you can get to the Imperial Palace. Nonetheless, the view was beautiful.  And is it just me or does Felix look like some sexy movie star from the 50s? I wish I could look so chic.  Instead, I'll just have to look grumpy.

I liked how the tradition of Japan is juxtaposed with the modern city.  Every where you looked the two worlds seemed to mesh effortlessly.

I also like that this is a serious palace with massive stone walls and vast moats.  Once again, Japan's views inspired my imagination.

While much of the compound is new, many of the massive, protective gates were very old.

As always, the gardens were spectacular.

There you have it, a view of Japan's two Imperial Palaces.  I can't pick a favorite; I liked them both for different reason.  You decide which wins the Battle of the all-star Imperial Palaces.

Zen and the art of . . . well, zen.

We visited a lot of shrines/temples while we were in Kyoto. But without question my favorite was the zen Buddhist beauty that is Daitoku-Ji.  This grouping of gardens and temples was so peaceful, so beautiful that it was impossible not to feel more loved, more connected to the rest of the world, even more charitable.  From the dry gardens with their stories of the circle of life, to the lush green gardens with their calming beauty, I loved this place.  There are few places in my life that have asked me to be a better person.  But after visiting Daitoku-Ji, I want to be a better person.  Here are a few photos that can't begin to express the beauty of Daitoku-Ji.

I seldom felt like a giant Caucasian man in Japan, but this picture makes me feel huge. 

Of shopping and shrines.

Kyoto's Gion district is a strange mashup of modern life and Japanese tradition.  There's plenty of first-rate shopping including a series of covered streets that feature hundreds of shops, most populated by local vendors selling a variety of wares.

That's probably to be expected in a modern Japanese city. What isn't expected is the multitude of shrines that are peppered throughout the same area.  One of our cab drivers informed us that there are more than 1,700 shrines in Kyoto. Every where you turn in the covered shopping streets you find little alleyways that lead you to shrines.  And as you explore those alleyways, you find amazing nooks and crannies that seem completely out of place in a place that is all about capitalism.  Somehow, it makes shopping more enjoyable.  Here are some photos of the shrines I visited while enjoying a little Japanese shopping.