Assignment: Kyoto - Part 2

A tour of Kyoto..

Day one of the NACE EAP conference began with a tour of Kyoto.
This was provided courtesy of the Japan chapter.
We began with a visit to the Shimadzu Corporation - a company that manufactures precision equipment which is world-reknown.
Following the factory tour, we moved on to the Nijo Castle, a UNESCO Heritage site located in the mid-town area.
This is were the Shugon had resided during the Tokugawa Shogunate era.
Its a real beautiful place with an entrance fee of 600 Yen.
After a tour of the castle, we were led to lunch where half the group had left for a meeting.

A Shimadzu corporation staff explaining a 3D X-ray scanner

Temples and Shrines

We continued to visit two more shrines and temples around Kyoto.
Our tour guide was very enthusiastic as she walked us through the different era of Japan's feudal ruler's history.
The second stop was another shrine in the mid-town area. 
We spent about an hour there and moved on to another popular temple which is also one of the oldest in the city.

Nijo castle

An entrance to the garden in Heian shrine

Sake barrels offering

The Heian shrine

The last venue was an old temple called Ryoan-ji.
This is a popular tourist destination as there were hoards of people entering the temple complex from tour buses.
November is one of the busiest period for Kyoto in terms of tourist arrival.

A nice view of the temple complex

This 14th century structure is a UNESCO heritage site

A formal evening...

The tour ended by 5pm and this was followed by a cocktail reception for the participants of the EAP conference.
I went back to the hotel to put on my coat and joined Michelle at the cocktail reception.
Drinks were limited as we stood around to wait for speeches by the big wigs and later, we worked our way to downtown Kyoto for supper with a couple of staff from the NACE office in Kuala Lumpur.