Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Kyoto visit with an expert guide…

Paco, Marcelino and Alberto had the treat of their life on April 23 when guided by the expert, Fr. Michael Saso, they visited Kyoto at the end of their meeting as they took a day off. The Claretians have two communities in nearby Osaka.

We learned many things that day:

When Tokyo was an unimportant village and Osaka was just a glimmer in the eye of some future shogun, the city of Kyoto was the magnificent capital of Japan. Kyoto rightfully takes its place among Rome, Istanbul and Athens as the city itself is a living museum. Even after Tokyo (then Edo) became Japan’s capital in 1868, Kyoto remained the cultural and historical center of the country. But if you travel to Kyoto don’t expect a quaint old world town. Kyoto, like Tokyo, is a bustling and often claustrophobic metropolis with busloads of tourists clogging the sacred temples and Zen gardens during much of the year.


Sanzen-in Temple in Ohara – Kyoto





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