Kyoto - An Ancient Japanese City!

Bringing the Outdoors in - Kyoto Hotel Dining Room

I can't remember that last time when we vacationed with our sons. It is expected as our children grow, we would have less opportunity traveling with them since they have their own lives to live.

This is why we treasure this time we have visiting our son and spending some time with him.








We took the Bullet Train from Tokyo and reached Kyoto in two and half hours to this ancient city.








 Early the next morning, we took a stroll
around the area near the hotel where we stayed.

We were pleasantly surprised to discover some pretty old and neat houses lining the streets.

Kyoto Gyoen National Garden

Since Er, wished to spend his last Saturday evening in Tokyo, we wanted to make the most of  our day and decided to visit three places.

The first one was the Imperial Palace in the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden located in the centre of Kyoto City.

Though it was drizzling that morning, it was still a nice walk for us in this quiet beautiful green space full of dark green trees.

The Museum about Nature

We visited some of the buildings in the garden and learned about some Japanese history.


One building we visited was the Museum of Nature dedicated to the display of tree and birds found in the area.

A Tree Calendar Outlining Partial Significant Historical Events

One display we found interesting was a Tree Calendar.
Using the rings on a huge tree stump, museum staff created a historical timeline about Japanese history. However, we noticed that some very significant historical events were omitted from this timeline, i.e. the Japanese invasion of South Asian countries and the country's surrender to the Allies in WWII.  










It is a pity that Japanese children will not learn about these important historical events while visiting the nature museum in the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden.

Imperial Palace in the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden

Though most of the buildings in the Kyoto Gyoen Garden are open to the public year round, the Imperial Palace is not.

However, if people are really interested in visiting the palace they can contact the Imperial Household Agency Office and make some arrangement there. We found this sign posted outside the imperial building.









We were a little disappointed at not able to see the palace but was consoled to find a nice resting place and had a refreshing snacks there.

R.T.
Kyoto, Japan
Aug. , 2013