The Lost Hawaiian: Kyoto Day 7

Though the pictures do not always reflect this- Kyoto is crowded in the summer. And hot. Have I mentioned that? But because we're rise and shine kinda folk (and I nag the boys to get moving like you wouldn't believe), we tend to get to spots before they're too crowded. I also have zero photography skill, which means I never have to worry about silly little things like lighting, depth or exposure. I just point, shoot, and then stroll over to the air conditioned gift shop for a cool refreshing beverage.

On this day, we met the boys at Nijo-jyo (Nijo Castle), home of famed warrior Tokugawa Ieyasu. Only because one of degrees was in Japanese history (yes...a very useful degree in real life), can I tell you that Tokugawa Ieyasu was one bad-a** samurai. He built this fortress castle to protect himself against other enemies.

The outer moat to the castle

The main entrance gates once manned by samurai, but today, by equally fierce and well trained rent-a-cops.

Please note Ryan's outstretched arm, which he recently began doing in photos (before I can catch him) after watching the RHOOC with me (clearly I take my parental responsibilities as a cultural guide very, very seriously.)

The ornate entrance gates to Ninomaru Palace (or as I like to call it- Ieyasu's crib).

We so early not even the front gates be open yet.

There are two main gardens at the castle, here is the first bordering the Ninomaru Palace. This is the first one. I wonder if Tokugawa Ieyasu slowly and meditatively walked around the waters after his morning tea planning which feudal lord to plunder next.

The inner moat and gate (I'm guessing they didn't have ADT back then).

Honmaru Palace, the second palace within the walls (rebuilt a few hundred years ago after the first one was struck by lightning and burnt down).

View from the guard tower

Perhaps the most distinguished feature of the castle is the 'Nightingale floors' installed by Tokugawa-san throughout his living quarters. Nightingale floors were designed/built to make a ringing or chirping sound when stepped on. Floor boards were designed so that the nails rubbed against metal, causing the chirping/ringing noise. It is believed that these floors helped prevent ninjas/assassins from trying to kill the occupants.

As you can imagine, each time I have visited this castle (I think this was my fourth time?), I have maturely challenged my companions to a Secret Ninja Assassin Competition...where we find a quiet corner of the castle (not hard to do, even when crowded, it's large) and then try to creep our way across a 50 foot stretch of hallway without sound. Let me tell you- it's not easy to do. Unless you weigh 35 lbs. like Ryan or move at the pace of an octogenarian turtle with multiple physical disabilities...it's hard to sneak up on someone.

Once we finished touring the castle, we met back up with Rich (who had gone to visit a nearby school he used to teach at) and embarked on a short walking tour of the area. First, we hit up this teeny park, where I was promptly bitten by 7 mosquitoes in 2 minutes before hightailing it out of there (Rich on the other hand, sat there for 20 minutes on his iphone and did not get so much as a single bite through his forest-like body hair).

This little shrine was located right next to the park

At my request, Riki found a (hard to find) dead cicada for me so I could show it to Ryan. Cicadas emit a very loud, high pitched sound that to me, resembles the reverberations you sometimes hear near power lines. I.e.- They are FAR from music to my ears. And they're also GIANT beasts with very short lives, rarely seen.

A closer, blurry look (see earlier comment about not having any photography skills), which we realized on closer inspection, was just the molting of a cicada. Still, I think you get the idea. These things probably eat large roaches for breakfast.

Rich loved the kaiten sushi restaurant so much we went back for a return visit...here are the four boys watching and waiting to see if they won a prize.

After the sushi, we walked over to Bivi, a building that is home to a massive video arcade called The Third Planet. I think it should be called The Third Job, because that's what you'll need to play games there. Games ranged from 100-300 yen per play. Per play. Insane! The boys were hooked on a game that cost 300 yen ($3) each time you tried to grab a prize with a crane (which took all of about 10-15 seconds to play). I nearly had a stroke watching them dump coins into that machine. Chinese ancestors everywhere were turning over in their graves, I could feel it. (Thankfully, they won a motorized boat. But still.)

More interestingly, they had a game that blew my mind, because each game was an individual pod/capsule that had 180+ degree video screens that even extended to above your head/body. Insane!