For years I have condemned tours, particularly bus tours, as speed-dating tourism, where people careen from one site to the next like drunken poets, all so they could say, ‘been there, done that, and have to photos to prove it.’ It is more like counting coup than understanding the significance of a site or work of art.
Yet without some guidance, Kyoto simply overwhelms you.One of the oldest cities in the nation, Kyoto was the residence of the emperor and the capital of Japan for almost 1,100 years (794 CE to 1868 CE). It has more than 1,660 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines. Of Japan’s 21 cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 17 sites are in Kyoto.
The cultural and historic importance of Kyoto was even recognized by the Allies during World War II. When the U.S. Army had a list of possible targets for the dropping the second Atomic Bomb which included Kyoto, the politicians (¿politicians, a good deed?) took the city off the list not once but twice. Consequently, Nagasaki had that honor and more than 70,000 people died and 70,000 were injured.
So, my first act in Kyoto was to eat my words by booking a bus tour. (Eating your words is best done in a tempura with a light dipping sauce of soy, dashi and mirin.)
We decided that the best way to start learning about Kyoto was to take a bus tour to get the lay of the land, and one that was offered by none other than the “Perfect Kyoto 1-day Bus Tour”.
The Perfect Bus Tour turned out to be less than perfect. The first thing the guide said to me was “you realize that this tour will entail lots of walking”. It was news to me, as I thought that a bus tour meant taking the bus.
For over ten years, I have had to use a walker to get around while any distance that I can manage has gotten less and less. Last year, I miscalculated my physical capabilities badly and ended up losing two friends as a result. Call it hubris, call it machismo, call it denial, call it me, unfortunately.
Toni, however, was able to walk to the farthest temples and shrines and bring back the following series of photographs.
Quite beautiful!