Thursday 29 June
Day 10
Our last full day in Kyoto and we had a couple of places we wanted to check out. Paul hadn’t had the best night, with his headache persisting, but the show must go on as they say. We didn’t get out of the hotel until 930am and it was off to find a bus. Thankfully this was far easier than our last effort. The stop was clearly marked and an information pole showed when the bus was due to arrive. Happy days.
Our first destination was the Silver Pavillion, Ginkakuji. This is a Zen temple located along Kyoto’s eastern mountains (Higashiyama). In 1482, shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa built his retirement villa on the grounds of today's temple, modelled after Kinkakuji (Golden Pavillion), his grandfather's retirement villa at the base of Kyoto's northern mountains (Kitayama). The villa was converted into a Zen temple after Yoshimasa's death in 1490. It is not covered in silver though.
We entered the grounds and admired once again, the preciseness of the garden structure. Strong lines of small stones that form straight lines. The perfect pruning of the plants that line pathways and overhang the ponds, the mossy floors that look line indoor green carpet. It is another place that would be beautiful and so different across the seasons.
We followed the loop path, again up stairs, which always affords a great view over the temple and the surrounding streets and then returned to the entrance gate. As we left, we ran into the Tasmanian couple from the red bar in Tokyo. I am really starting to think Aussies are magnets.
We made our way down the tourist centred strip, stopping to buy some pretty fans, before heading out to another bus stop, this time to check out Kinkakuji.
The ride was about 40min, as it was on the other side of town. I was grateful to get on at this point, as we were able to get a seat together at the back. The busses don’t have many double seats, so they can squish in more standing passengers and that is exactly what happened. We ended up with a noisy bunch of Italians behind us, who insisted on shouting at each other. Wth Paul’s headache in full swing, it was not appreciated. I guess they aren’t aware of the expected etiquette here in Japan; be quiet on public transport!
Traveling by bus does have an advantage, you are outside and can see things at street level, unlike the subway. It was great to see the parts of Kyoto pass by and enjoy the architecture and general bustle of the city.
When we arrived at our destination, the packed bus suddenly became alive with everyone wanting to disembark. I followed google maps, which took us away from the crowds and up a quieter side street, which was just what we needed after our ears were left ringing. We found the entrance to the Kinkakuji Temple and wandered the mall to the ticket counter. With our beautiful tickets in hand, we made our way into the garden.
Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) is a Zen temple in northern Kyoto whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf. It was formally known as Rokuonji, and it was the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. When he died in 1408, it became a Zen temple of the Rinzai sect. Kinkakuji is the only building left of Yoshimitsu's former retirement complex. It has burned down numerous times throughout its history including twice during the Onin War, a civil war that destroyed much of Kyoto; and once again more recently in 1950, when it was set on fire by a fanatic monk. The present structure was rebuilt in 1955. Kinkakuji was added to the World Heritage list in 1994.
We had a lovely blue sky day, so, when the gold pavilion came into view, it was shining brightly. We were able to make our way to the edge of the pond on which the pavilion is perched, and take photos. The crowd was greater in number than at Ginkakuji, so some jostling was required, but it wasn’t overwhelming.
We again followed the path through the grounds, yes up inclines and stairs again, though not as intense. There were areas where three short statues were set up and a bowl. These were surrounded by coins and plenty of people happy to throw what they had in their wallets, to see if they could land in the pot. There were very few successful shots. Paul thought this would be a good addition to our backyard.
The path around Kinkakuji was not particularly long and I think the gardens at Ginkakuji were far more spectacular, but the gold leaf building, with its Phoenix perched at the top, was quite spectacular.
We followed the crowds along the loop path, before exiting the temple and returning to the street. It was now 1230 and we needed lunch, the gold roll looked like just the spot. We ordered ramen and okonmyiaki, enjoyed with a drink in the cool of the aircon. Paul said his ramen was average, made with spaghetti noodles and not true soba noodles. Oh well. The other good thing about the cafe, was the bus stop was right outside the door.
We had a 20min wait for the next bus, Paul was fading, as his headache was causing him trouble and this was worrying the attendant at the stop, as I was busy trying the alleviate the neck pain with a massage. We were first to board the bus when it arrive, nabbed a double seat and then sat back for the next 30min until we reached our stop outside the Imperial Palace. The bus wasn’t too busy and we were soon out and walking the final 600m to our hotel ready for an afternoon rest.
We rehydrated on return. The hotel has an endless supply of post mix soft drink for guests to consume, so we filled up before making it to the room, where Paul took the time to rest and I used YouTube to teach me how to fold paper cranes, ready for me to leave in Hiroshima tomorrow.
By 4pm, we were ready to tackle the streets again, this time we were wandering down our street and into the Nishiki Market. This is a place where fresh produce, mainly all varieties of seafood are sold and many restaurants that sell cooked up wares. There was plenty of interesting things to check out, as we dodged through the crowds.
Once we were spat out at the end, we were faced with the Daimuru shopping centre. A sign notified of a money exchange, so we ventured to the 7th floor and converted some cash, before winding through different streets towards the river. The clouds were starting to settle, so the humidity had ramped up a little and it was still warm.
We found a bridge to cross to the opposite side. Here we could watch over the water and marvel at the size of the massive fish just milling about and the cranes taking refuge on stone piles in the middle of the river. We walked along the river path, checking out the restaurants on the other side, with their outdoor dining areas set out on wooden decks. Another, more Eastern European building, grabbed our attention. We assumed it was some sort of hotel, but the architecture was quite stark in relation to the traditional Japanese burnt black, wood structures that are very common here.
We crossed the bridge here. The railings are being replaced with new wooden tree trunks and there were boards explaining the creation. At the end of the bridge, I was surprised by a local with their little pet on a lead. I thought it was a tiny chihuahua, but on second look it was a meerkat! Now I have seen it all.
We made our way, zig zagging through the streets, in the general direction of our hotel. We stopped for a sweet treat, a waffle like pastry, shaped as a fish and filled with warm Belgium chocolate. We ate and walked with our treat, a big no no here in Japan, but we were willing to risk it. We passed interesting temples along the way, just built within shopping districts or the shopping centre has been built around them. We made a stop at the seven eleven for our microwave dinner and then returned to the hotel to heat them in the lobby, before going to the room for the night.
We ate our meals and then Paul rested, while I showered and repacked the cases, ready for our onward travels tomorrow.
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