Kyoto at Night

Kyoto in the Early Evening

Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺) (Kyoto, Japan)

The last temple we visited! (I know you are probably sick of looking at temples...I will get on to other parts of the trip now). I have to say though, the temples/shrines in Kyoto may have been the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen. If you know anything about Kyoto, you will know that one of the reasons it is such a famous tourist destination is because of the fact that it was one of the few cities that was not touched by World War II. And thank god! To imagine that these beautiful places of Shinto and Buddhist worship could have been wiped off the face of the Earth would have been a tragedy as they are really really incredibly beautiful. If anyone is planning a trip to Japan, Kyoto would be my Number 1 recommendation place to visit.

And this one was no less spectacular than all the others, in fact, it may have been my favorite. Kinkaku-ji or Temple of the Golden Pavilion is one of the most famous temples in all of Japan. Kinkaku-ji is a three-story pavilion with the top two stories being covered in pure gold leaf. Each floor of the Kinkaku uses a different architectural style. The first floor, called The Chamber of Dharma Waters, is rendered in shinden-zukuri style, reminiscent of the residential style of the 11th century Heian imperial aristocracy. The second floor, called The Tower of Sound Waves, is built in the style of warrior aristocrats, or buke-zukuri. The third floor is built in traditional Chinese cha'an style, also known as zenshu-butsuden-zukuri. The building is topped with a bronze phoenix.









There is a bucket in the middle of all these Buddha statues. The way I took it was, if you make it in the bucket, you have good luck/long life/something really awesome happens to you. Guess who made it in the bucket? This moi.

Ryōan-ji (竜安寺) (Kyoto, Japan)

Ryōan-ji (or The Temple of the Peaceful Dragon) is a Zen temple in northwest Kyoto (aka a LONG bike ride from Toji). It used to be the Fujiwara family estate before the Onin War (1467-1477) and then was converted into a Zen temple. Today, the temple is synonymous with Kyoto's most famous Zen Rock Garden. According to Wikipedia, "The garden consists of raked gravel and fifteen moss-covered boulders, which are placed so that, when looking at the garden from any angle (other than from above) only fourteen of the boulders are visible at one time. It is traditionally said that only through attaining enlightenment would one be able to view the fifteenth boulder." Heady.

Japanese beggar?

I can't decide if Japan would be the best or the worst place to be homeless...? Either way, this cat does it in style.

Toji (東寺) (Kyoto, Japan)

This Buddhist temple was just a short bike ride away from our hostel. Built in 796, it is formally known as Kyō-ō-gokoku-ji (教王護国寺, The Temple for the Defense of the Nation by Means of the King of Doctrines) as it previously functioned as a temple providing protection for the nation. The temple's principal image is of the Medicine Buddha. The pagoda of Tō-ji stands 54.8 m high, and is the tallest wooden tower in Japan.

Fushima Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社) (Kyoto, Japan)

Day two in Kyoto led us to some of the more well-known temples and shrines. This day we opted for doing it all on bike (vs. bus and walking the day before). An object of Imperial patronage in the early Heian period (794-1185), Fushima Inari Shrine is the shrine of 1000 gates. The earliest structures were built in 711 on the Inariyama hill in southwestern Kyoto (far away from everything else), but the shrine was re-located in 816 on the request of the monk Kūkai. The inner shrine is led to by hundreds of these orange "torii" or gates. This bright vibrant orange is the color to ward off evil spirits in the Shinto religion. It was really sweet.

Kyoto Lens Flare

Eyesore

That's right folks, Wasabi and Green Tea KitKats...I got in a lot of trouble for taking this picture :)

Wandering in Gion

Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺) (Kyoto, Japan)

Kiyomizu-dera takes its name from the waterfall within the complex (kiyomizu means "clear/pure water") and is one of the more famous Buddhist temples in Kyoto. I can't even imagine how spectacular it would be during the fall when the leaves are changing as it was pretty incredible last week. It was the most crowded of all the temples we visited. Built in 1633, Kiyomizu-dera was recently one of 21 finalists for the New Seven Wonders of the World. It was also the site for us finally finding our Temple Books! Woot.

Geisha (芸者) and Maiko (舞妓)