This morning we took an hour long train ride to Himeji to see the castle there. It is very lovely and all at once very different from Western castles and exactly the same. It was not opulent in anyway that I could see, other than pure size. The palaces and homes have been much more opulent. This seemed purely militaristic.

In the afternoon we took a cab over to Engyoji, a series of temples on a hill. It was a little too quick of a trip, but the large temple we got to see had the most beautiful porch I’ve ever been on. The hike up to the top was nice also and revealed a beautiful view at once.

So my time in Kyoto has come to an end. It’s really lovely here, particularly when you are inside the temples and shrines and palaces and castles. The city itself is kind of small and sprawling, definitely short. It really isn’t so lovely, though there are parts that you happen upon that are totally beautiful. It is mostly fascinating and wonderful. Sometimes conventional beauty doesn’t matter.