Kyoto was the primary destination of my 3-day trip of Japan. I arrived late in the evening and in the first night had just enough time to explore the night downtown with one of its lit temples. The next day in the morning I was up before six and headed out. It was Sunday, so the Imperial palace was closed to tourists. So I instead visited Nijo-jo, a castle build in 1603 as a residence of the first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu. An amazing building to even a modestly experienced westerner - paper covered outside walls, empty rooms with sliding walls, wooded "nightingale" floor (squeaks with every step), spectacular screen paintings and beautiful garden outside.
My plan for the afternoon was to visit a castle in Himeji. On my way to a train station I went up Kyoto tower for good views of the city. With a Rail-pass, trip to Himeji in a Shinkanses was quick and easy. Himeji is one of only handful of Japanese castles that survive in their original nonconcrete form. It was build in 1580. The castle and the city around it were build for defensive purposes. Not far from the castle is a complex of nine beautiful Japanese gardens.
On my way back to Kyoto I interrupted my trip in Osaka, to visit a night scene of Ebisu-Bashi featuring restaurants, shops and many many neon lights.