Go Go Kyoto- December 9, 2010

Our taxi adventure ended and we arrived at Ginkakuji 銀閣寺 (not Kinkakuji  金閣寺) ready to take on the hordes of school children on tours.  And hordes there were.  Unlike Kenninji, which was relatively quiet, Ginkakuji was full of beautiful sights which we saw on an assembly line.  You are directed to go one way only up the hill to the top to get an overview of the temple.  We were followed by a couple of American men who breathed heavily every time I stopped to take a picture.  But they were not alone in their race through the grounds.  Young teenage boys and girls ran up and down the hill as if on a chase, shouting and giggling salaciously only as children that age can.  We also were followed by a screaming newborn baby belonging to a young French speaking couple, who tried everything to stop the crying.  Oh typical tourist experiences, I missed you so! (Apparently if you go early in the morning, you miss the school kids. And, we heard Kinkakuji was even more crowded, despite being a 1955 reconstruction of the original golden pavilion rather than the real thing)

Notwithstanding all of the clamor,  Ginkakuji was a gorgeous place and well worth the time, particularly for the view from the top and the famous sand gardens. It is another World Heritage site and two of the buildings, the Togudo Hall and the Silver Pavilion date from the 15th century.

Hordes of Japanese students on their way to Ginkakuji

sand garden at Ginkakuji

sand tower (Moon viewing Platform) at Ginkakuji

Sea of Silver Sand (Ginshadan) & Moon-viewing Platform (Kogetsudai)

Another view of Sea of Silver Sand 

The Hondo (left ) and Togudo Hall (right) at Ginkakuji

going up the hill at Ginkakuji

Silver Pavilion to the left- view from top of hill

sand garden with sand tower to left behind tree

Silver Pavilion

After a noodle lunch in a nearby restaurant full of chaperoned students, we headed down the Philosopher's Path toward Nanzenji. The Philosopher's Path was under construction in some places but generally runs right along a canal for a little over a mile.  We were treated to autumn colors but in the spring the Path is popping with cherry blossoms.  It is reportedly named after 20th century philosopher Nishida Kitaro, who used the walk along the path to Kyoto University to meditate and think philosophical thoughts.  We stopped for homemade cake and coffee at Pomme along the Path, and I spent a good deal of the walk thereafter thinking about the pleasure of eating coffee cake.  We also saw a cute shop along the way with a wonderful boy's kimono on display and some antique women's kimonos.  At the end of the Path, we came upon a herd of cats.  Go figure! Most philosophical creatures I know.

The head of the Path

Antique Kimono Store near Path

Boy's Kimono near Philosopher's Path

Cats on the Philosopher's Path

It started raining so we skipped a further tour of Nanzenji and headed back to our hotel to spend the evening poking around the shops at the Kyoto station for our last evening there.

Kicking It in Kyoto - December 6, 2010

We arrived in Kyoto on the beautiful and fast shinkansen from Tokyo.  Although our JR Passes did not allow us to take the quickest shinkansen (nozomi),  the one we took, hikari, was still quite fast and sleek looking. (A few days later when we traveled to Okayama and Hiroshima we discovered that all shinkansen are not created equal as we experienced a downgrade to a slower, less comfortable train even though it was still called hikari.  That route is run by JR West whereas Tokyo- Kyoto is run by JR Central, which are different companies.)

Shinkansen 700

The first treat of the train trip was seeing Mt. Fuji from much closer than our hotel in Tokyo.  I got a few good shots and my husband got even better shots.  We had reserved seats in a mostly empty car and the two hour forty minute trip went by quickly.

Mt. Fuji taken from shinkansen

Kyoto station is an amazing architectural feat.  We admired it briefly before we headed to our hotel at the station, the Hotel Granvia Kyoto.  Since we were at the station, we were able to come back frequently to watch the travelers, the Christmas shoppers near the Isetan department store, and the escalators to the sky--about 12 stories worth.  We also discovered the underground Porta mall with our favorite breakfast spot, Starbucks where I ate a small mixed sandwich (egg, potato salad, cheese) every morning with my nonfat latte.

Kyoto station  evening 

In my previous blog, I described our first activity after we checked into the hotel--heading off to Okutan for a terrific tofu lunch.  What I did not tell in that entry was how crabby I was in the taxi on the way to Okutan.  In my mind's eye, Kyoto was a quaint little city with plenty of old buildings and authentic historic sites (like geiko and maiko--after all we all read Memoirs of a Geisha).  In reality, Kyoto is a big city (population is about 1.5 million in about 320 sq. miles) with plenty of uninteresting boxy large buildings from the 1960s and 70s, with pockets of beauty and history.  I looked out of the taxi at a place that seemed to sprawl forever and wondered why I had wanted to spend four days there.

Okutan is across from Nanzin-ji, the head temple of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, so we strolled over there after we had finished eating.  Most of the buildings on the grounds were closing but I was able to hear some beautiful Zen buddhist chanting as we wandered the grounds.  I walked up to and through the Sanmon, away from the Hatto and headed toward a garden that was still open near the Sanmon- the Tenjuan Gardens.

Side hall at Nanzin-ji - chanting inside

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Sanmon from within the grounds

Hatto

Through Sanmon

Sub Temple of Nanzen-ji from Tenjuan Garden

The garden itself erased all my concerns about the urban scene that flooded my taxi ride to Higashiyama.  I could live in this garden.  Every where I turned was another fantastic scene, sublime and balanced. Autumn colors, water, moss, rocks, structures.  Again, I will let the pictures do the talking.

zen rock garden in Tenjuan garden

entry to Tenjuan garden

well in Tenjuan garden

waterfall in Tenjuan garden pond

autumn colors Tenjuan garden

Bamboo in Tenjuan garden

temple seen through Tenjuan garden foliage

Stone walk on pond Tenjuan Garden

stone lantern in pond in Tenjuan garden

Koi in Tenjuan garden

Another view of Tenjuan garden pond

Moss Tenjuan garden

Room in Tenjuan garden with view of autumn colors

Kicking It in Kyoto (so to speak)- December 7, 2010

For this post, I will use my dear Japanese friend and guide's itinerary for the day as a template, filling it in with a few observations and pictures.

10:00 We arrived at  Nishihongan-ji  (temple), not far from our hotel at the train station- the Kyoto Granvia.  The temple is Shin Buddhist (teaching is Jodo Shinshu (The True Essence of Pure Land Buddhist Teaching)), founded by Shinran Shonin, and sits on the site of the founder's mausoleum.  We entered through the Amidado Gate and visited the Amidado (Daisho-in) Hall dedicated to the Amida Buddha,  and the Goeido Hall (Founder's Hall) dedicated to Shinran.  Behind the temple was a temple preschool where we saw lovely 3-5 year olds playing in the yard.

Amidadomon Gate to Nishihongan-ji 

 Nishihongan-ji  precincts Goeido Hall on right

Buddhist altar in Goeido Hall

 Nishihongan-ji  Preschool

11:00  We arrived at To-ji   (East Temple), a World Heritage site, also not far from the Kyoto Station.  To-ji boasts a pagoda which is the highest wooden tower in Japan. The temple was established in 796 and represents the Shingon school of Buddhism.  Like most places in Japan, what we saw at To-ji were reconstructions.  The pagoda we saw, for example, was rebuilt in the late 17th century.  Our friend updated her temple book with calligraphy which I was allowed to photograph.

Autumn colors at To-ji

Quince tree at To-ji

To-ji Pagoda up close

To-ji Pagoda 

Calligraphy in temple book

12:30  We had lunch at a Japanese restaurant “Hisago” in Higashiyama district.  The specialty is “oyakodon”, rice bowl with chicken and semi-cooked egg.

13:15  We passed through a nice alley called Ishibe-koji to the foot of Kodai-ji.. We got a photo from a distance  of a war memorial for Japanese soldiers in WW2,  Ryozen Kannon (Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara ) near Kodai-ji.
    

Ishibe-koji

Ryozen Kannon

13:25  We walked down a street called “Ninenzaka” which is toward Kiyomizu Temple.  On the way, I found a store dedicated to the fabulous Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro).  We also saw an ad to dress up as a geisha, hanging monkey soft sculptures on many of the shops and a five-storied pagoda called “Yasaka-no-to".

Totoro!

dress like a geisha (geiko, maiko) ad

Ninenzaka

Monkeys ©Paul Hoffman 2010

Yasaka-no-to

14:10   We arrived at Kennin-ji, the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto, and one of my favorite places in Japan. Highlights included the rock gardens and the dragon ceiling. I will let the pictures do the talking.

Hattou at Kennin-ji

Kennin-ji

Rock garden at Kennin-ji

Rock garden at Kennin-ji

Rock garden at Kennin-ji ©Paul Hoffman 2010

Rock garden at Kennin-ji

Grounds at Kennin-ji

Grounds at Kennin-ji

Chouontei Garden at Kennin-ji

Dragon ceiling at Kennin-ji

Rock garden at Kennin-ji

15:15   After leaving Kennin-ji, we walked on the street called “Hanami-koji”.  On the way, we saw Yasaka Shrine on the far corner of the Shijo Dori street, and Minami-za Kabuki Theater.

15:40   We took a rest at the Japanese tea house “Izutsu Yatsuhasi Honpo”

16:20    We passed over  Shijo Ohashi Bridge.  At that point, my husband  took a walk on the Teramachi street, while my friend and I looked  at Takashimaya department store.  The store reminded me of an upscale American department store with higher prices--nothing I could justify affording, not even a small t-shirt or toy.

17:00   We finished the day with dinner at the vegetarian restaurant “Miko-an” run by a former Buddhist nun, always peace activist  with a penchant for cats.

Minami-za Kabuki Theater ©Reiko Yabu 2010

Hanging with one of the many cats at Miko-an ©Reiko Yabu 2010

All photos not otherwise attributed are ©Maggie Heim 2010.