Our string of beautiful Fall weather continued today as we made our way from Kobe to Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, via Bullet Train. The Japanese are rightfully very proud of these technological marvels as well they should be.

Our guide Naomi took great care in explaining that we only had two to three minutes to get onboard the train and find out reserved seats. Based on the signs we probably could have figured things out but it was nice to have a guide the first time.

We’ll upload some video as it’s quite impressive. The trip to Kyoto, a distance of 41 miles takes 28 minutes via the Bullet Train at a top speed of close to 150 mph. A good part of that time is the mid point stop over in Osaka. And there is an even faster express train!

Upon arriving in Kyoto a bus took us to our first stop, Kiyomizu-dera Temple. There are over 1,600 Buddhist temples scattered across Kyoto. This one is famed for its platforms with views of the city and springs. The the temple site dates back to the 7th century AD and the current buildings were constructed in the 1600s. Not a single nail was used in the construction. Unfortunately the main temple was under large tarped scaffolding as it is being restored in preparation for the Summer Olympics being held in Japan in 2020.

There was a large shopping area leading up to the temple filled with a variety of shops some of which have some very nice porcelain and other items.

From there it was on to the beautiful Westin hotel for lunch. The hotel was perched on a hillside with wonderful views of the city.

Our final stop in Kyoto was the literal jewel of the city – The Golden Temple. The original temple on the site dated back to the 13th century AD was destroyed by arson in 1950. The main golden building was constructed in 1955 and is covered in over 8 million dollars of gold leaf. There are large crowds to see such a site but we managed a few good shots.

This gigantic oak near the entrance of the site is over 500 years old.

The 600+ year old bonsai above originally started in a pot but had to be transferred to the ground when it became too large.

Tim rang the rope below for good luck and hopefully better health. We are now sailing to the sacred Mt. Fuji.