Our Kobe-Osaka-Kyoto bike ride was through a huge
conurbation (large continuous multi-city urban area), but was surprisingly enjoyable because much of the ride was on beautiful bike paths along rivers. The biggest challenge was getting our bikes onto some of the bridges,
since a few of them required us to push our bikes up steep steps to reach the
pedestrian/cycling part of the bridge.
Kyoto is a city of 1.5 million whose name means
"capital city". It is so named because it was Japan's capital for over
1000 years, ending in 1869 when the imperial court transferred to Tokyo. The
city was largely spared from bombing during WWII, and so is one of the few
Japanese cities that have a large number of prewar buildings. We spent considerable
time in Kyoto touring historic sites, including some of the 17 sites listed in UNESCO World Heritage "Historic Monuments of Ancient
Kyoto". We also visited modern sites. Needing new rechargeable batteries for our GPS's, we went to the
largest electronics store that we've ever seen: Yodobashi Camera, which puts
Best Buy to shame.
One of the enjoyable parts of our visit to Kyoto was the
opportunity to have dinner with Miriam Truppin-Brown, the daughter of
Boston-area friends of ours. Miriam has been living in Japan for the past few years
teaching English and studying Japanese. There's nothing like knowing a local
who can find a great restaurant in an off-the-beaten-track location.
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| Leaving Kobe |
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| Shlepping a bike up to a bridge |
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| Gorgeous bike path through Osaka |
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| Arriving in Kyoto |
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| Dining with Miriam Truppin-Brown. The company and food were as great as the setting. |
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| Koto-in Temple, part of the Daitokuji temple complex |
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| Higashi-Honganji Temple |
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| A lovely garden on the grounds of the Nijojo castle |
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| An old, well preserved home on a side street |
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| One small part of Yodobashi Camera |
