Our first stop was Nijo Castle which we reached by taxi from the train station. There was a booth offering free English guided tours so we met our tour guide and proceeded on the tour. First we got the history of the castle and viewed the gates (pic. 1). Then we entered for a walk around the Shogun's residence in Kyoto (pic. 2). Apparently he did not live there very often, just maintained as an outpost. One of the most interesting features were the squeaky floors that made little chirping noises when you walked on them. This was to warn the occupants of anyone approaching. After our internal tour, for which pictures were not allowed, we toured the beautiful gardens. There were beautiful trees (pic. 3) as we went along the path. The unusual tree in pic. 4 is actually a tropical tree that has been wrapped to help it survive the cold winter in Osaka.
Due to the heavy rain we did not walk the entire grounds but did see a large moat surrounding the inner palace. Unfortunately the inner palace was closed at this time.
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