Kyoto – 18th – 27th November

We arrived into Kyoto by a standard train and then a subway to the Gojo area. Some trains here are double deckers! I’ve never seen such a thing before. Anyway, we dropped our bags off and walked across the river to the Kiyomizu-dera Temple in the historic Higashiyama district.  Once we walked up the hill and all of the steps we had an amazing view over Kyoto. It was sunny, but noticeably colder. The sun shone on the autumn leaves, it was beautiful. People had obviously hired kimonos again but as we walked back to the hotel older local women were wearing them too. Glen had read that they get discounts on buses and in cafes etc if the locals (or tourists) wear them. Who knows if that’s why they still wear them. 

Our first accommodation in the Gojo area was amazing! Never mind the fancy lighting and decorations we’ve had in many hotels over the last six weeks, our bathroom had lots of extra gadgets! We also had our own washing machine and we could dry your clothes in the bathroom which had a built in drying rail and hangers and a ‘drying mode’ on a control for hot, cold or ventilation. It also had a little mini tv screen in the bath! It was small, as was the bath tub. People are small here though! Lol!

I thought to myself, if we have all these amenities and gadgets in this inexpensive hotel what would we get in the big fancy hotels. A person in our room who played jazz music on a saxophone while we had a bubble bath maybe. lol! 

Toilet update: Now the weather is getting colder the heated toilet seats are coming in to their own. (Smile) One downside to the hi-tech toilet is when it’s only written in Japanese and not English.  Although it is written in Braille. (ingenious and once again thoughtful)

This photo and Braille layout was at the entrance of toilets. This was just above and beyond thoughtfulness I thought. 

Another thoughtful thing they supplied in one hotel were these plastic bags to put over your head if there was a fire (so you don’t inhale the smoke) ….after all the years we told the girls not to put plastic bags on their heads, lol! It’s actually a good idea! The TV (which was huge! It was as wide as the bed!) showed a little video of how to use it too!  The ‘hotel’s home screen’ also played a weird cartoon and song in Japanese every time we entered the room! I will have to put it on Instagram for you.

I’ve just had a random thought. The little pot of black elastic/plastic ring things amongst the condiments, in a restaurant by our third hotel in Emmachi, could have been for people to tie their hair up. This would stop their hair from flopping forward in to the noodle soup, it seems a bit extreme but the Japanese are so thoughtful, as I keep saying, so i think they could have been for that. 

One day we caught a train to the Arashiyama district on the western outskirts of Kyoto. The Arashiyama mountain and Ōi River is a beautiful backdrop to the temples there. 

This is a rainbow looking in the opposite direction to the mountain by the way.

Arashiyama is a nationally designated ‘Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty’. It was our coldest day so far in Japan, it didn’t spoil our visit, in-fact it made it easier to climb all of the steps, it was beautiful there.  There were a lot of a different kinds of moss under the trees as we walked up through the woods, so when a lady offered us a free sample of something (without my glasses on) I assumed it was edible moss! ( I know it sounds stupid now but they eat leaves over here so…. ) anyway I asked Glen to take a photo as I thought it was such a cute display, but first he tried the sample…., which turned out to be THE tiniest little fish I’ve ever seen and a green peppercorn (which we have seen in Kampot during our last travels through Cambodia) They were selling this horrid stuff as a condiment. Everyone there was loving it and found it funny that I was freaking out at the thought! I bet Glen will come across one of those tiny fish when he’s flossing in the coming days! (Shudder!) 

Bamboo growing on the side of the mountain.

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The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove had soaring stalks of bamboo and lots of Rickshaws and their fit drivers! (In more ways than one!) They are immaculate in their appearance and also charming young men. They look good in the traditional outfits but the Tabi shoes can’t be the ideal footwear for the job! I saw a pair in a secondhand shop! 

Tabi shoes are a traditional Japanese footwear, easily identified by their split-toe style and ultra-thin sole, that provide greater grip and control than conventional footwear. Traditionally (and in modern times), they are worn by workmen and rickshaw drivers.

We caught a train to see the Iwashimizu Hachimangu shrine and because I was frightened of going on the cable car we stayed on the train to the next stop. We then walked for an hour, up steep streets through a lovely residential area and then on through woods of bamboo. It was tiring but so worth it. 

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After enjoying the views from the top we took, what turned out to be a funicular train down. It wasn’t a cable car after all. Oops sorry to make you walk all the way up Glen!

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“Fushimi Inari Trisha Shrine is an important Shinto Shrine in southern Japan. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grounds.“

The walk up through the woods was lovely, there were so many little shrines along the way too. People were praying by them or having their photo taken from the amazing view at the top. What I’m interested to know though is what is the point of having a photo taken with a white mask and sunglasses on! Just wondering. People have done it here in Japan as well as China, surely the pollution isn’t that bad that you can’t take your mask off for 60 seconds!?

This stunning building is The Kinkaku-Ji which means Temple of the Golden Pavilion. Officially named Rokuon-ji. It is a Zen Buddhist temple and is one of the most popular buildings in Japan. We could see why, it was beautiful, especially with the sun on it.

Glen has taken most of the photos on our blogs, some have taken a while to get (without someone walking into shot for instance) and some have been snapped quickly. The other day as we stood looking at the spectacular gold temple I felt something on my head and thought it could have been a falling leaf, as there were many all around us. However, as I looked at a man stood by me carefully taking a photo of the gold temple a huge red dragonfly landed on his forehead as he was looking through the lens! He didn’t flinch at all until he finished taking his shot, sadly the dragonfly flew off before I managed to take my shot of him! It would have been THE perfect photo! 🙈 and I just missed it! I tried to tell him but he couldn’t speak English. I think the lady with him saw it and knew why I was so excited, but I can’t be sure. I hope I can always remember that image as vividly as I can now. However, I also hope I do not remain as frustrated and disappointed as I feel right now! 

In China we had to present our passports each time we paid to go in to a temple or wherever, and had our bags scanned. They also checked your tickets several times around each venue. Here in Japan most places are free entry and don’t ever ask for a passport. We went into one place and they never checked our ticket so they trusted that you had paid, which you didn’t actually need to, there weren’t any turn styles etc.

I think we’ve mentioned before how people have come out of their shops and walked us to our hotel rather than just give us directions when we’ve asked. Well when we arrived in the third area of Kyoto on the train, and couldn’t find the hotel, I walked into a barbers and asked a group of guys. One lovely man, who could speak a little English, walked us to our hotel. Every day we walked by the barbers I would wave to him and as I type this Glen has gone to get his hair cut there. Let’s hope he is as good at cutting hair as he is at being helpful and friendly.

We went to the local market, as we usually do in each place we visit. These Sparrows were just skin and bone on a stick! They were being sold for the equivalent of £3.20! Who eat these for goodness sake!

I think they like the crunch! Look at this bag of tiny dried crabs too!

These looked like pieces of wood! But they are dried, fermented tuna. They shave them into flakes (Bonito flakes), the ones that move when put on hot food that I mentioned in the last blog.

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Fish tails! really! Why? why would you buy these fish tails!? ….. and for just short of £8 a bag!

And as for this pre-packed fish…..no words!

Soft shell turtle soup! Oh and there is a lot of Eel on sale here too.

We took a train out of Kyoto for a day trip to Nara. There were more Deer there than people. lol! We walked for miles looking at more temples as if they were going out of fashion! I have to say though that the main hall of the Todaiji temple was worth the journey as it housed a magnificent bronze Buddha, one of the largest in Japan.

Todaiji (東大寺, Tōdaiji, “Great Eastern Temple”) is one of Japan’s most famous and historically significant temples and a landmark of Nara. The temple was constructed in 752 as the head temple of all provincial Buddhist temples of Japan and grew so powerful that the capital was moved from Nara to Nagaoka in 784 in order to lower the temple’s influence on government affairs.

Until recently, Todaiji’s main hall, the Daibutsuden (Big Buddha Hall), held the record as the world’s largest wooden building, despite the fact that the present reconstruction of 1692 is only two thirds of the original temple hall’s size. The massive building houses one of Japan’s largest bronze statues of Buddha (Daibutsu). The 15 meters tall, seated Buddha represents Vairocana and is flanked by two Bodhisattvas.

The photos do not show how big the building was and how it felt being there. The Buddha was massive too. Again you can’t tell from the photos but it helps us remember our visit there.

Along the approach to Todaiji stands the Nandaimon Gate, a large wooden gate watched over by two fierce looking statues. Representing the Nio Guardian Kings, the statues are designated national treasures together with the gate itself.

The sitting Buddha is 15 metres tall.

The grounds were full of autumn colours.

If you look to the left of the photo below you can see a chain hanging down from the roof. I’ve never seen such a thing before we came to Japan. They are water chains that guide water down from the roof making a water feature rather than a ugly drainpipe. We have some other examples later in the blog.

The Deer were bowing to get food, so cute. They have been taught to bow for the shiva senbei, special crackers that are sold for 200y.

Ryoanji (Ryōan-ji) is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan which is today most famous for its Zen rock garden with its enigmatic arrangement of stones. Founded in the 15th century CE, the temple is one of the most visited tourist spots in Japan and is listed by UNESCOas a World Heritage Site

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This might look like a boring rectangle of gravel but it is a very special Zen garden. The number one Zen garden in the world we have read. The Shichi-go-san (7-5-3) arrangement is a famous stone setting. Shichi-go-san (7-5-3) is a traditional Japanese rite of passage to celebrate the healthy growth of children of these ages. Usually, boys ages 3 and 5 as well as girls aged 3 and 7 are celebrated. We’d come across this when we saw parents bringing their children dressed in traditional clothing to the temples in Tokyo.

Glen said he could only count 14 stones and we then read that although it has 15 stones placed on the gravel (which the monks rake each day) you can only ever see 14 of the stones at one time from the veranda. Apparently you can only see all 15 if you obtain enlightenment, I nearly walked back in to see if I could see all 15! However, I wasn’t sure it was possible for me to obtain “awakened intellect and wisdom” at this late stage in life.

Once again, showing how thoughtful they are there was a small replica of the garden for the visually impaired to feel and the information was in Braille.

Gigantic Torii gate on the approach to the Heian-Jingu Shrine.

There was a wedding going on in here and another ceremony we were not sure about.

The tree below was covered in Omikuji charms, paper fortunes which are said to foretell good or bad luck on what they are praying about. They were tied to the branches and looked like blossom we thought.

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There are lots of ‘rules’ in Japan we have discovered, and it seems so far that people live by them. The zebra crossings were just one example of the rules. They never walk over a zebra crossing when the lights are red, even though you can see that it’s clear both ways down what are mostly straight roads. Even if the zebra crossing is only three metres across one of the small roads!  

Another rule is “No kissing or hugging” However a handshake or a high-five is suggested instead! Lol!

It’s considered rude to eat when walking around so if they buy a snack from a stall they all stand outside of it until they finish eating. All rubbish from the food (wooden stick, paper or plastic bag etc) has to be given back to where you’ve bought the food from. As you might imagine this means the streets do not have any litter! Even little leaves are brushed up constantly and we’ve seen stairs in train stations being ‘hoovered’.

When we moved into our first (of three) hotels/areas in Kyoto we were made aware of a “book of rules” to follow! I didn’t read it! Well only to find out how the washing and clothes drying mode in the bathroom worked! I should have read about the hi-tech toilet rules! When I went in there in the night I was careful not to wave my hands about not knowing whether it would play me a tune, squirt water up at me when I least expected it or spray deodorising “spritzer” in an inappropriate place! Lol!

Anyway, back to the temples!

We went to an impressive place called Rengeo-in Temple. It housed 1001 gold statues in a long ‘hall’. It was an amazing site and such a calm atmosphere. We were not allowed to take photos so here are some stock shots.

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As we walked along the long hall past the statues there was a peaceful atmosphere. There was a gathering of people with a monk talking intensely to them in Japanese and other people bowing and praying and lighting candles. I read all of the signs about this deity and that goddess, Kannons and all sorts, I wondered how people of this faith remembered all of these ‘characters’

Sanjusangendo (三十三間堂, Sanjūsangendō) is the popular name for Rengeo-in, in eastern Kyoto which is famous for its 1001 statues of 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.

Measuring 120 meters, the temple hall is 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. Together they make for an awesome sight.

1000-armed Kannon are equipped with 11 heads to better witness the suffering of humans and with 1000 arms to better help them fight the suffering. Note that the actual statues have only 42 arms each. Subtract the two regular arms and multiply by the 25 planes of existence to get the full thousand

Finally, the rain chains!

Rain chains (Japanese: 鎖樋, kusari-toi or kusari-doi, literally “chain-gutter”) are alternatives to a downspout. They are widely used in Japan. Their purpose is largely decorative, to make a water feature out of the transport of rainwater from the guttering downwards to a drain or to a storage container.