In order to help improve my Japanese language skill and visit some friends, in November of 2002 I went to Japan for two weeks.

First I went to the Kansai area (Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe), where I stayed with my friend Motoki and his family in Kyoto.  Kyoto is very rich with history.  There are many temples, shrines and streets that are hundreds of years old.  To ensure these places are not overshadowed; new buildings in Kyoto are not allowed to exceed a certain number of stories.

While in Kyoto I visited numerous places.  It would take several pages to tell of everything I saw and everywhere I went.  So I’ll only write about two of my favorite places.

 The first is Ryoan Temple.  It is most famous for its rock garden, which was built in the 15th century by a painter and gardener named Soami.  The garden is very simple.  It has a total of 15 rocks surrounded by white gravel.  All but two of the rocks sit on islands of dark green grass.  There are no trees or bushes in the garden.  It is very simple but unique.  I was told that there are not five islands of grass but actually six.  And to see the sixth you must close your eyes and allow your spirit to find it.  I still haven’t seen it.  But I like the garden anyway.

Next is Nijo castle which was built to be the official Kyoto residence of the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.  Construction of the castle began in 1601 and it was finished in 1603.  Nijo castle is one of the few castles in Japan not destroyed in WWII.  It is very amazing.  One my favorite things about the castle was, the Uguisu-Bari (Nightingale Floor). It has that name because when someone walks it it squeaks and sounds like the song of a Nightingale.  It was build to make the Shogun and his guards aware of intruders that snuck into the castle at night.