Kyoto part one - Nijo Jo (Castle)

Rising bright and early on Wednesday morning, I was shocked to find that even at 7 in the morning it was already 30 degrees. I showered anyway, and readied myself for the day ahead.

Evan had told me the best thing to do was to buy an all day bus pass for 500 yen, so I trotted on down to the station. Not having anything to eat, the entire day before, had left me feeling hungry, so I called in Starbucks, ordered an ice-coffee and a doughnut and perused through my lonely planet guide.

After getting my bus pass I decided to head to Nijo Jo (Jo being Japanese for Castle), before it got too warm or too crowded. Finding the right bus was no problem, neither was getting off at the right stop. Nijo-Jo is a massive structure lying just off the main Dori (street) like some dormant giant from another era.

The castle was originally built in 1603 to be the official Kyoto residence of Shogun Ieyasu, and was completed in 1626 by Shogun Iemitsu. In it's day it served as a symbol of power and authority of the Tokugawa military government. The castle has been designated a historic relic, with the Ninomaru Palace being a National Treasure (no, not the duff Nick Cage movie). The castle covers 275,000 square metres with 7,300 square metres being occupied by buildings.

The first place I passed through was the main gate, and the Bansho (Guardhouse). The gate itself is an Important Cultural Property, and is known as Higashi-Ote-Mon (Eastern main gate). It certainly was an imposing structure and I felt that my time in Kyoto was going to be one with my mouth agape most of the time.

The main palace itself is pretty fantastic. From the ornate detail above the door to the fact that this Palace is around 400 years old. The Palace consists of 3300 square metres and was originally built in 1603, being completed in 1626. It has 33 rooms and 800 Tatami mats, and is almost entirely constructed of Hinoki wood (Japanese Cypress). I was banned from taking any photographs inside the palace due to the beautiful, original and detailed paintings that decorated each room.

My favourite part of the Palace though was the floor. Known as Uguisu-Bari (Nightingale Floor) it seemed to sing everytime I stepped on it. This was of course for the Shogun's protection from Ninja's and other assassins. I thought it was a great sound, almost like an eternal sound from the past...

Outside the Palace, I then wandered through Ninomaru Gardens, that were breathtaking in the morning sun, and into the actual castle grounds of Honmaru. Honmaru was destroyed in 1750 by a great fire, and the current structure dates from 1847. It didn't look out of place though, sat in amongst the majesty of the inner garden.