Japan
Kyoto
5.17.15 - 5.17.15
80 °F
After sleeping in after our grand march yesterday, we left the hotel at about 11:00am and boarded one of the Japan Rail local Trains to the Emmachi Station to be begin site- seeing for the day - a gorgeous one.
The first stop was Rokuon-Ji Temple (Golden Pavilion), a buddhist sanctuary. The garden and buildings were said to represent the pure land of Buddha in this world. The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The next stop - about 800 meters down the road was the Insho-Domoto Museum of Fine Arts, which had an exhibition by the artist Miwa Chose.
On the road again for about a km, we arrived at the Ryoanji Temple with its simple and remarkable Zen Garden. There are 14 rocks in the garden, but if you are enlightened you see 15. As a Catholic, I only saw 14. The Temple was created in the 1500's.
Our final stop, about 1.3 km away was the Ninnagi-temple/former Omuro Imperial Palace, also a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was founded by the 58th Emperor Koko during the Heian Period. It was completed in 888. 
