Yesterday I awoke to blue skies and sunshine which made a delightful change. My first port of call was the district of Arashiyama, west of the city, where I had been promised the 'romantic side of Kyoto'. It didn't disappoint...
I started at the temple of Tenryu-ji, which boasts a beautiful 14th century Zen garden with a glass-like pond at its centre. I then climbed up the hillside through a towering bamboo grove with trees reaching for the skies which creaked and rustled like it was alive. This was made even more special by the sunshine fighting its way through to the forest floor.
At the top of the path I was greeted by the magnificent villa and garden of Okochi-Sanso, originally built by a famous samurai film actor. The rather steep entrance fee here meant that I had the place almost to myself and could spend time reflecting in true zen style at various meditation points around the gardens whilst looking down over Kyoto from this tremendous vantage point. I finished up in the little tea room where I was brought a cake and a cup of matcha-style green tea, which I swallowed as politely as I could!
Back in town, I made my way to Southern Higashiyama, the area of Kyoto that is home to some of its most famous sights. There was a suggested walk in my guide book, which I ended up doing backwards due to transport connections... I thought I was being clever until I realised I appeared to be walking uphill the entire way!
Leaving my poor knees aside, the walk was quite something. My first stop was Shoren-in, a small Tendai sect temple and a contender for my favourite place in Japan so far. It's not so well known as other temples in the area so was much quieter and seemed to contain more people who had come to pray and meditate rather than sight-see. This is where I encountered my first group of women in traditional dress. They were breathtakingly beautiful ... I only wish I had found the courage to ask if I could take their photograph.
Reluctantly moving on from Shoren-in, I found myself at Chion-in, which was something of a contrast. My book describes it as 'an immense Pure Land Buddhist Temple' and 'grand in every way', which I think is a very fair summary. Impressive though it was, it didn't have quite the same appeal.
I then wandered through the pretty Maruyama-koen park to the open air shire of Yasaka-jinja where I spent a few moments observing the shrine caretakers at work in their traditional clothing. They keep very busy making sure everything is kept spic and span.
After a couple of brief detours to Kodai-ji temple and then Ishibei-koji, a pretty residential lane off the main trail, I started my ascent (poor knees) to Kiyomizu-dera temple, one of Kyoto's must-see sights. One of its main draws is the spectacular view it affords over the city and I spent quite a long time at the top breathing in the incense and looking out towards the haze. It's quite something to observe the number of people who had the same idea and the temple throbs with hoards of people who have come from all over Japan and beyond to pay their respects.
Having roused myself, I made a slow descent back down the hillside and began my search for a bus that would take me back to Kyoto station.
I'm not sure whether I'm more impressed with the Kyoto public transport system or my ability to navigate it to be honest. Knowing me, you'll know that I like a good puzzle and I secretly relish the challenge of working out how to get somewhere using the subway, train and bus network. So far, so good... but perhaps I shouldn't speak too soon!
This morning I was up early again to make sure I could squeeze in two further temples Kinkaku-ji and Ryoan-ji which both featured in Mr Tanaka's Kyoto Top 3 tips. Not wishing to miss them, I set off on the number 205 bus to North-West Tokyo first thing with the added bonus that I was there for Kinkaku-ji opening at 9am and could be one of the very first to gasp as I rounded the corner and took in the shining gold pavilion from the other side of the water. I can see why this temple is so popular with visitors and I'm just glad that I was able to soak up the atmosphere with little interruption.
I then hot-footed it down the road to Ryoan-ji, a very different temple again, which is famous for its zen garden made from just 15 rocks. Although I could get a sense of the calming nature of this garden, I actually found the rest of the gardens here very beautiful and spent quite a while sitting by the Kyoyo-chi pond in the winter sunshine.
I have to dash now... but will blog again soon and share some more of my impressions of Japan so far!
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