5/14
Wow, today was SUCH a busy day! We walked to so many places that my feet feel like they're about to break... Our original plan for today was to take the bus to the famous Kiyomizue temple, make our way through two traditional streets called Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka, eat lunch and rest at Maruyama-Koen park, go to Shoren-in temple, then take the bus to a pathway called Philosopher's Walk to see the area and more temples.
Since Kiyomizue is so famous, the bus that took us there had a stop clearly labeled for it. The path up to the temple led up a hill that was lined with charming houses. I was very envious of the people who lived there; the area was simply gorgeous.
Unfortunately, some of the buildings at Kiyomizue were under renovation, but luckily, the temple itself was still open. There were TONS of schoolkids and teachers too, and we would continue to see more of them everywhere.
Our tickets.
View from the temple.
Sooo many people, even in the morning.
Incense smoke, which people would waft over themselves as an act of purification.
Votive plaques. People purchase them as offerings for their wishes to come true.
Kyoto Tower is in the far distance(the red and white tower).
On the other side, there was a place where people could pick up pieces of paper that contained fortunes. If the fortune turned out to be bad, one could tie it to a nearby rack to "keep it from actually happening".
People were heading below the temple, so we headed down under the trees too.
There was stone structure immediately below, with three streams of water pouring over the edge of its roof. People were lining up to catch the water in long metal ladles, then drink it or wash their hands. My grandma and I waited in line as well, and it was worth it. The water must have come from a mountain source, because it was very cold and clear!
We then continued down the path with everyone else. Fortunately it led to the traditional streets, Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka, though not before we passed some other picturesque scenes...
Sannenzaka was insanely packed with people of all ages, ranging from tiny elementary school kids with yellow hats to groups of elderly women.
SO CROWDED.
One of the many pathways to shops hidden away from the crowds.
Luckily, as we kept going, the crowds subsided a little, and we were able to enjoy the quaint streets and shops with a few other people.
A lovely path branching off of Sannenzaka.
We saw a lot of women dressed in (probably rented) kimonos.
Ninenzaka branched off of Sannenzaka, and there were even less people!
The sign for Ninenzaka on the right.
Brightly-colored fish in a tiny pond in front of a shop.
Ninenzaka ended abruptly, and it took us some time to check Google Maps on the iPad. Thank goodness we had portable wi-fi; I highly recommend it for trips in Japan. Once we repositioned ourselves, we wandered through a path surrounded by white walls.
Carp windsocks, or koinobori, most likely flown in honor of Japan's recent Children's Day.
An artist creating and selling his art on the side of the path.
There wasn't much to see on our way; we went through a back street and ended up in front of a huge red shrine. We were still confused about how to get to Maruyama-koen park, but luckily, there was a large stone sign for it on the corner.
There were many rickshaws around all the tourist areas.
We walked down one more street, and then finally made it to the park. There, we all sat on a bench, took out our lunch, and ate while taking in the scenery.
Maruyama-koen Park.
Pigeon bullying others.
Yes! It's flying closer!
It looks happy!
Afterwards, we set off again through the park towards Shoren-in. Along the way though, another temple called Chion-in caught our eye. We originally didn't plan to go there because it was supposedly under construction. It looked mostly untouched though, so we decided to go in. The entrance was huge; the wood pillars that held it up must have been made from very old trees.
A formidable set of stairs, both to the eyes and legs...
These stairs were pretty steep, and some of the older people around us were having trouble climbing them. At one point, an elderly Japanese man almost fell, but my grandma caught his arm and helped him the rest of the way up. He thanked us and we (mostly my grandma) talked for a bit. We found out that he had done business in Shanghai (where my grandparents now live part time) selling socks. He also said that tomorrow was going to rain, so we would have to bring umbrellas. After some more conversation in broken Japanese, we said goodbye and parted ways.
Ladles and a fountain to wash hands.
We went back on course and found Shoren-in, but we decided not to go inside because we wanted to make it to the temples on Philosopher's Walk before they closed. The trees in front were amazingly beautiful though...
Very old camphor tree in front.
To get to Philosopher's Walk, we had to catch a bus at a nearby stop. We ended up getting dropped off at Nanzenji temple, which is at one end of the pathway. The entrance kind of reminded me of Chion-in's, but its unique feature was a Roman-like aqueduct system that seemed quite out of place.
Philosopher's Walk itself was very quiet. It ran in between a backstreet and a small, shallow canal behind houses. I wished it were sunny; it would have been perfect to stroll down in the afternoon or evening sunlight...
Teddy bears "fishing" on the other side of the path.
We our first stop off of the path was Honen-in temple. It was completely unique out of the ones we saw today. The temple was very small, and was hidden in the forest of bamboo and trees so it was a little dark. It had the most atmosphere out of all of them though; the darkness combined with the quietness was very mysterious.
Does the stone block mean "do not enter"?
We then retraced our steps and followed the Philosopher's Walk to Ginkakuji temple. Ginkakuji was originally going to be the silver counterpart of the famous, golden Kinkakuji (we'll go there tomorrow), but the construction was delayed for a long time, so the temple never got its silver color. Instead, Ginkakuji is known for its sand gardens, where the sand is swept into patterns and a peculiar, custard pudding-shaped pile.
At one point, the path around the temple led up to a lookout point on the mountainside.
Now, it was time to head back, so we strolled back down Philosopher's Walk in the direction of Nanzenji temple. It was later afternoon now and the school kids had all left, so it was absolutely quiet except for the sound of water flowing through the canal.
At one point, we came upon a guy sitting on a bench with a huge group of cats around him. When my grandma exclaimed how awesome that was, the guy replied back in Chinese as well! It turned out that he was from Kaohsiung too, but he was now living in Kyoto. He said that the cats regularly come here, and he just happened to take a day off of work today. We moved on and I almost stumbled into a single cat lounging sleepily next to the pathway!
We moved on, but soon stopped again, as I spotted a strange carriage structure complete with cushions...that was full of cats!
As we we finally set off again, a tabby cat passed by us, heading towards the carriage. It stopped in front of it, then padded out of sight. Suddenly, almost all of the cats in the carriage leaped down and followed after it. Interesting...maybe they're part of a cat gang or something.
Tabby cat strolling by on the lower right.
It took a really long time for us to get back because we had to take two different buses and we also still had to pick up dinner from the Isetan in Kyoto Station. By the time we got back to the hotel, my legs and I were dead...
Anyway, that's it for now. What a busy, yet AWESOME day!
Until next time...
