2020 - Giles and Paula go to Japan

[neph93]

Who doesn’t love a bit of moss? (Good colour for a kersey shirt btw…).

[Giles]

[Giles]

This walkway connected two ancient tea-rooms.  I loved the arches that supported the roof, all carefully selected branches - no joints needed…

And this fence was perfection…

[the246guy]

Nice pictures! Looks like you are having lots of fun! Enjoy!

[louisbosco]

good to see kenta looking good. send my regards if it's not too late! kyoto's looking lovely from your photos. all my trips, i've only ever done day trips to kyoto from osaka. seems like i got to make it a point with staying there and slowly exploring it without any rush..

@Giles the international driving permit is not so much an issue with rental companies. it's basically for them to cover their asses in any unfortunate scenarios if an accident happens and the insurance company doesn't pay out. also, it actually acts more as a translation document that anything else. especially if you were to be pulled over by the cops or whatsoever. other than that, there's not much to it.

[Giles]

Yakitori for dinner…

[Giles]

Today, we went to Nijo-jo Castle.  The castle that both heralded the start of the Edo period and also saw the end.  Because of Coronavirus, the interior was closed to the public, but the grounds were stunning, so we did not mind unduly.  Again, because of Coronavirus, the place was practically deserted, there were times when it felt like we were the only people there.

Firstly, more do-nots…

Damn, I really wanted to go down that hole….

My personal favorite…

And this one just does not have the heart, to give it an outright "No"….

And just how small do you need to be for this to be in any way relevant?

[Giles]

[Giles]

All the fortified walls were internally braced by vertical granite posts at about every 3 meters…

[Giles]

[Giles]

@Chap I guess you could have been a locum here if you'd got stuck in Kyoto….

[Madame Buttonfly]

Giles's photos are way better than those I took, a few of the cherry and plum trees in the lovely gardens at Nijo-Jo Castle are starting to blossom, in a couple of weeks it will be spectacular.  As you can see, we were incredibly lucky with the weather today, bright sun and around 20 deg C

[Madame Buttonfly]

And this must surely be every kid's dream of a school bus!

[Giles]

[Anesthetist]

Really enjoying the pics this trip, keep up the great work! That last pic of G is the best [emoji482]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[steelworker]

Great photos!  I encourage you to ignore the signs and run around on the grass.

[Giles]

Last night we wanted Tonkatsu.  When we got to our chosen restaurant, it had closed - well it was 9PM  ::)

So we ended up doing Yakitori again…...

[ROman]

Great pics @Giles & @Madame Buttonfly , They're inspirational. Thanks

[Palmer]

Looks like you're having a fun and private vacation! I can't believe the lack of other people in your photos.

[louisbosco]

^sounds like the perfect time for a holiday.