Day 5- Kyoto

The weather today was spectacular (though a lot of it couldn’t be enjoyed due to the dreaded bus) and after a big breakfast, we were back out hunting temples and shrines.  The busses seemed even more crowded today than yesterday and at times required all riders to suck in there guts to allow another passenger or two to board.  

We made it to our first stop, Kinkaku-ji (aka the Golden Pavilion) along with several thousand other tourists and schoolchildren on field trips.  The Golden Pavilion was built in 1397 by the 3^rd shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate, Yoshimitsu, who decided to become a monk and leave his duties (but not his power) to his son.  He was an ardent Zen Buddhist and asked that his villa become a temple after his death.  The actual villa burned to the ground  by arson in 1950 and was restored precisely to its original.  The structure is entirely coated in gold leaf  and is topped by a copper phoenix.

There is an interesting tree in one of the gardens that has been “trained” to grow to look like a boat.  It was originally a bonsai tree that was placed outdoors.

                                       

Another long bus ride (and even MORE passengers) got us to another of Kyoto’s major attractions, Nijo Castle, surprisingly not a temple.  Nijo Castle was built by Ieyasu,  1^st shogun of the Togukawa Shogunate   from 1543-1616.  The Emperor and the Shogun were always vying for power and with the Imperial capital in Kyoto  the castle  was built to show off the power of the shogun based in Edo.  He rarely came to the castle because he preferred not to cross paths with the Emperor.  Ironically, the main reception hall was the site of the surrender of the last Tokugawa shogun to Emperor Meiji in 1867.

The central tower of the castle was destroyed in a fire but the stone foundation is still present and we climbed to the top for a birtd’s eye view of the castle grounds.

As it got closer to rush hour, the busses got more crowded (didn’t believe that was possible) but back on the horse we went across Kyoto to  Sanjusangen-do Temple. It is famous for its 1001 statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. The temple was founded in 1164 and rebuilt a century later after the original structure had been destroyed in a fire.

The temple hall is 120 meters long, Japan's longest wooden structure. The name Sanjusangendo (literally "33 intervals") derives from the number of intervals between the building's support columns, a traditional method of measuring the size of a building. In the center of the main hall sits a large, wooden statue of a 1000-armed Kannon (Senju Kannon) that is flanked on each side by 500 statues of human sized 1000-armed Kannon standing in ten rows. Each of the Senju Kannon has 11 heads, better to help fight suffering.  In front of the Kannons, there are 28 deities to help protect the Kannons. 

Unfortunately, photos are not allowed in the building but I can tell you, it made for an awesome sight.  This is a stock photo.

On to another temple, Kiyomizu (“pure water”) Temple which sits high on a hill with killer views of Kyoto. 

The main hall of the temple is constructed completely without any nails and is an excellent example of Japanese joinery. 

Pilgrims have come here for nearly 1,000 years to drink the water from the sacred spring.

The pagoda adjacent to the temple, unfortunately, was closed which gave some of the best viewing.

On our way out, I spotted these kids trying to get a picture in action.  The mom was using an Iphone (which is great for some photos, not for action shots-sorry, Sawyer) so I helped them out.  Yasuko got their email address, and I sent them the photo.  The kids were ecstatic, a lot of handshaking and bowing.

Women in traditional dress coming to the temple for the special "lovers" shrine.

Below the temple is a shopping district with narrow lanes lined by old Kyoto houses (now shops). 

Found geishas out on the street here.

We were also able to get nice views of the Yasaka Pagoda from this vantage point. 

Yasuko promised us a great ice cream shop,here, but after passing a ½ dozen along the way, we came to find out that her shop was closed.

We continued toward our hotel through Maruyama Park, and finally found an ice cream vendor that sold other than green tea ice cream (the chocolate of the Japanese).

We were close enough to the hotel that we needn’t board another moving coffin, but by the time we reached the Westin, we were both exhausted, a lot of walking and a lot of jet-lag.  We wound up falling asleep around 7pm and skipped dinner entirely.

Back to Tokyo on the bullet train tomorrow.