For a city known for preserving what is left of "old" Japan, the Kyoto train station stands out as being remarkably modern.
The Golden Pavilion, or Kinkaku-ji, was described in our guidebook as "second only to Mt. Fuji as Japan's most famous sight", so it was an obvious choice to make it our first stop. It did not disappoint. The main hall was constructed in 1397 as a retirement villa for a shogun and was converted into a temple after his passing. In 1950, an apparently disturbed monk burnt the three-storey, gold-leafed pavilion to the ground. It was completely reconstructed by 1955 and recovered in gold leaf in 1987. Stunning from all angles, and likely in all seasons, we were all quite impressed by our first stop.
Day 2 began with some rain, but we forged ahead to see the hundreds of red torii gates at Fushimi-Inari-Taisha. Our guidebook was spot on in describing it as "quite simply, one of the most impressive and memorable sights in all of Kyoto." The gates are further immortalized in Memoirs of a Geisha. With all of the bright red shrines and dozens of stone foxes (considered messenger of Inari, the Shinto god of cereals/rice), the entire complex felt quite whimsical, almost Disney-esque. Interestingly, the winding, parallel rows of red gates are donated by individuals and companies whose names are inscribed into the back of each gate. The cost of these gates range from 400,000 yen to over one million yen.
Next up was Gion, the widely known geisha district. We briefly walked down Shijo Dori, a popular shopping street with signature green-roofed walkways adorned with lanterns. We stopped for a quick bite to eat at what might as well have been a small cafe in Europe- pizza for us, cinnamon toast for Hazel- before walking down Hanami-koji, lined with preserved machiya houses (tradional wooden townhouses) and home to Gion Corner, an indoor theatre with nightly traditional Japanese performances.We were lucky to spot a woman dressed in her Kimono, perhaps a geisha or maiko (geisha apprentice) on her way to an engagement.
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| Shijo-dori |
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| Hanami-koji |
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| Gion Corner Theatre |
That afternoon, Mimi and I attended a 45-minute tea ceremony at a small teahouse called "En" where we learned about the art of preparing a cup of powdered Japanese green tea, also known as "matcha". It was very interesting to watch the ritualistic preparation of the tea, using a special scoop for the water, a bamboo whisk to create the foamy drink, and a red cloth for cleaning the materials. We learned about the items that one must bring to a tea ceremony (a fan and a paper napkin to hold your "sweet"), that the sweet (which in our ceremony was some kind of gelatine/marshmallow candy) always comes before the tea, the proper way to receive the tea cup (which more closely resembles a small bowl), as well as the four elements of the tea ceremony (harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility). It was so tranquil, in fact, I literally fell asleep. While the powdered green tea isn't typically my favorite, I was happy to finally experience this obligatory cultural event before leaving Japan, and felt very thankful to do so with my grandmother.
We all reconvened for a delicious habachi-style dinner at our hotel.
Day 3 began bright and early with a short walk from our hotel to Nanzenji Temple located at the base of the Higashiyama mountains. This is considered one of the most important Zen temples in Japan, and we were surprised to hear the dissonant chants of monks coming from one of the temple buildings. We admired the fall leaves and the red-brick aqueduct, and headed into the hills in search of Nanzen-ji Oku-no-in shrine where pilgrims apparently come to pray while standing under a waterfall in a mountain glen. I couldn't help but feel like we were on the set of an Indiana Jones movie, especially when some hidden pilgrim or monk started chanting and blowing a horn right near where we were standing. On our way out, the sun came out, as if the temple and surrounding forest were just waking for the day.
Later that morning, we all hopped in a cab to reach Kiyomizudera Temple, also known as "Pure Water Temple" located in the wooden hills of east Kyoto. This was one of the 21 finalists as one of the new 7 Wonders of the World, so we thought it best not to miss seeing it. A few highlights if this temple include a wooden stage that juts out from the main hall that was built without nails, the Jishu-jnga love shrine where you walk between two "love stones" to have your desires for love granted (which we skipped since it was up a narrow flight of steps), and Otowa Falls with three streams to drink from for different benefits (longevity, school success, and love life). They were selling a variety of good luck charms for various ailments and life events, including easy birth of a child.
After leaving the temple, we walked back down through a busy shopping street and sampled some yatsuhashi, triangle shaped cookies made from rice flour- very doughy and somewhat sweet. We also paused for lunch at a second floor cafe, where Matt and Herb had a Kyoto beer served in a decorative ceramic cup. Even the most basic things in our host country seem to have an unexpected Japanese twist.
On our last night in town, we opted for an early dinner at our hotel to prepare for our early departures the next morning. Mimi and Herb headed back to Tokyo via a flight through Osaka and we repeated our inbound train journey with some unexpected twists, like getting on the wrong train. The 90-second roller coaster ride of dread and relief we felt upon realizing we were on the wrong train and hearing that the train was still headed to Tokyo was quite the ending to our trip.
We now know why people say you should not leave Japan without visiting Kyoto. Mimi and Herb, we are so thankful you were able to experience Kyoto as well, and for all that you did to make our trip extra special!
