Japan
November 6, 2026 Kyoto and Wanderings Our day started with a lesson on how to use the subway system in Kyoto. The Japanese subway is among the easiest subway systems to use in the world and as we have free time this afternoon we may need to use it to get around. The first stop of the day was Nijo Castle. Higashi Ote-mon Gate (east gate) of Nijo Castle. Nijo Castle served as the fortified residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns for nearly 400 years. The shoguns spent very little time here but it was where the 15th Shogun eventually returned political power back to the emperor. The Karamon Gate of Nijo Castle serves as the formal entrance to the Ninomaru Palace. We were able to walk through the palace in sock feet and not allowed to take photographs. There were reproductions of the original wall panels that were covered in murals. The originals are somewhere safe. After walking through the palace, we continued onto the gardens. There were several gardens and each one had...