The Kyoto Cherry Blossoms.
Then, an unexpected event occured. ...The strawberries had to be put on hold for a while.
That open door (above) is to the inner grounds! The inner grounds used to be available only through advance booking many months ahead! We had not seen this before!
Needless to say, this was an opportunity not to be missed!
So we gathered our strength, and strawberries, and happily continued with our exploration!
In the inner courtyards there were fewer trees, but those that were there were given more space.
The tourists were behaving in very touristy fashion! Ok, I did use photoshop to make it look like she's the only one there!
Moving in closer, there is an improvement in the level of detail in the construction, and the decorative features!
The gold is beginning to wear away here. After the Imperial household moved to Tokyo, these grounds fell into disarray.
About 100 years ago, a visiting emperor decided to preserve and fix up the grounds. A number of minor household building were removed, and that became the outer garden area.
This is an entry gate along the south edge of the inner compound.
There are two trees here. The on the left is a Mandarin Orange tree, which is currently being protected by a covered frame. On the right is a Cherry tree
There were several viewpoints into the courtyard, and this one gave a better view of the raked gravel, and of the cherry tree.
A side entry into the courtyard, with the Cherry tree still partly visible.
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