Definitely Not in Tokyo Anymore...

Why am I definitely not in Tokyo anymore? Because I'm in Kyoto!!!
I took the highest-speed shinkansen (bullet train) available yesterday from Tokyo Station to get here. If you're ever in Tokyo, take a ride on the bullet train. I'll give you three good reasons. First, you get to take a 200-300 kph ride. Second, you go through some very lovely countryside, a nice sight after spending several months in the city. As it's autumn right now, the trees are also turning all sorts of awesome colors, making it an extra special trip. Finally, you can see Mt. Fuji out the window. Unfortunately, I was riding on the wrong side of the train, so I had to be a bother and take photographs through people. However, I can tell you this: it really IS as cool as everyone says it is. I hope global warming doesn't hurt its snow cap.
That same day, I managed to fit in a trip quick to Ginkaku-ji. This temple was originally supposed to be covered in silver, but, alas, the best laid plans and whatnot. It was also supposed to be NOT undergoing renovation when my respectable self visited, but that memo fell through. Nonetheless, there was a little garden, some fine Fall foliage, and a Zen garden to look at. There was also a cone of sand which (if I'm not mistaken) is supposed to be a way for deities to come down to earth.
I spent the night at a place called "Budget Inn," in one of their dormitory rooms. Eh. Fortunately, they only had space for one night, so I got to switch lodgings for tonight. I much prefer where I am now: The Palace Side Hotel. It is quite literally beside the Imperial Palace park. Because they had no singles, I have a twin all to myself. There's a cafe inside the hotel that serves relatively fancy fair, as well as Thai massage. Don't get me wrong - this isn't a Hyatt or anything. It's still quite nice, though.
Today I managed to get in three sites. First up was Chion-in (which, if I'm not mistaken, is the main temple of Jodo Buddhism). This is a complex of Buddhist temples up on a hill. There was plenty of notable stuff to look at and absorb. Right off the bat, you're wowed by a massive gate. (There's some interesting history associated with this gate: its creator and his wife committed suicide because he exceeded the budget for making it.) The "wow" is quickly extracted from you, however, by the steep ascent you have to make up the stone steps. It's worth it, though, as there are numerous temples to look at. I got lucky and, when I went into one of the larger buildings, found myself watching and listening to some sort of ceremony; chanting and some instrumentation were involved.
In the rafters of this same building was an umbrella with two alternate histories to it. The first involves (if I remember correctly) the building's architect leaving it there. The second involves a fox leaving it there. I like the second one, personally.
Not too far from the temple is the brilliantly colorful Yasaka Shrine. Here I saw another Shinto wedding ceremony taking place. Just outside the shrine I bought ￥8400 in old currency. I don't know if the stuff's legit, as the vendor was beside other vendors on one of the approaches to the shrine, but if it is, it's awesome. This is just the kind of souvenir that's awesome. In any case, I got two Edo-era coins, a war-era bill, and another coin.
Next up was the Imperial Palace. Once again, I got lucky, for today I did not have to take one of the two daily tours. Instead, I got to go in and tour freely, in both senses of the word.
Let me tell you, this was a very nice place to live. The buildings, naturally, had awesome architecture, as did the gates. Inside the buildings were fabulous screens; outside there was some lovely landscaping, including a massive garden. It's good to be the king. I also got to see an ox-pulled carriage there; it was quite brilliant.
My final cool stop for the day was at a place called Sanjusangen-do. That's actually not it's real name (which, for the record, is Rengeo-in) - it is called this because of the 33 spaces between the pillars of the hall. It is the largest wooden building in Japan, and what it houses is incredible. Inside, you'll find a six-foot high (I think) statue of the Goddess Kannon; she's accompanied by 10 rows of 1000 smaller statues of, well, herself. One tenth of these are the original statues, which were carved in 1249; the rest were lost in a fire. (Courtesy Wikipedia.) And that's not even everything. There are also statues of 28 other gods. These are quite impressive. The coolest one was the one with a dragon wrapped around him. Completely badass. The detail on these statues was incredible. The muscular ones even had bulging veins.
I got three souvenirs here: a piece of calligraphy (the character for "road"), a bow and an arrow which is supposed to guard against evil; and a fortune. (The fortune read "good," which wasn't the highest, but was still...good. Maybe it's because I walked outside with my socks on to put my stuff in a coin locker, then went in the temple without taking them off...)
Now, don't get me wrong, today was by no means a smooth adventure. My attempt at visiting one temple was cut short by its being used for a lighting-up event (which was open to the public, but I couldn't just stay for it; besides, I was in the "daytime photography" mindset. Also, there was the shop I couldn't find. In any case, it was still a good day. Tomorrow's gonna be good, too.