Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
After a sleep of pillow rejection (that traditional nut husk stuffing is not for me) we awoke with anticipation of a day exploring Kyoto. First was the breakfast included in our booking. We had both chosen the traditional Japanese set, which included Kyoto rice porridge with pickles, a dashi-maki omelette, grilled fish, salad side and miso soup. It was an exploration of flavours, but a filling and delicious start.
We stepped out onto the street, heading towards Sanjusangen-do Temple, but found ourselves passing Higashi-Honganji temple. So we popped in there. It was a peaceful and beautiful space. The architecture is ancient and ornate, with golden detail. We removed our shoes and entered the Founder’s Hall, one of the largest wooden structures in the world. We sat on the tatami mat and enjoyed the serenity as people around us prayed. It was a beautiful detour.
We continued on, admiring the scenery as we walked and finally made it to Sanjusangen-do Temple, where there are a 1001 statues of the Buddhist deity, Kannon. Once again, shoes were removed. This is a much more organised space and when you enter it feels a little like a museum. The Kannons are golden and stand as in a choir supporting the other deities they stand behind. They are in a very symmetrical pattern and are very ornate.
The repetition and calmness of the space draws you in and it becomes more meditative and there are places to stop and pray or make offerings. You can offer up prayers to be burnt in a ceremony or light a candle.
We left the temple and wandered through the peaceful gardens, every angle a picturesque delight.
Ready to go, I checked out my first public toilet. As advertised, very clean with all the gizmos.
We hit the street again, ready for coffee. Not finding one before the train station and nothing in the station below, we ended up in Macca’s - couldn’t wait any longer. It was pretty good and we were caffeinated, ready to tackle the train system. We followed google maps, found the correct line, the correct platform and even the best door to go in for fastest exit. And we had heated seats! We changed lines and got onto our next route.
Our stop was Nijo-Jo Castle which was exactly where we were headed. It is a World Heritage Site and quite an amazing place to visit. Shoes off, of course, and we followed the path through the castle. We gazed into the rooms. They are all have large murals painted on the walls, tatami mats, ornate ceilings and wooden sliding doors. Each room is decorated with intention; the reception room is guarded by tiger murals to intimidate the visitors. The wooden floorboards squeaked as everyone walked around - they are known as Nightingale Floors, gentle tweets as the aged boards speak to us. There is no furniture in the rooms, but it still has the feeling of a grand palace as you would find in Europe, just without all the fussy stuff! It was such a beautiful place to see.
Then we explored the grounds. Once again, following a path. This is quite the garden. The pine trees are perfect, the koi carp are enormous and the witches’ hats are disguised in bamboo wraps. We climbed to the top of the old watch tower for an elevated view before wandering through the plum and cherry groves. No blossom, but fruit is starting to grow (there’s my market update). We stopped by the art gallery to see some of the original murals for an extra $1. (While paying the extra money, we had an attendant talk us through how to operate the automagic machine, just to pop a couple of 100 yen coins in the slot. It spat out tickets and she scanned them) The whole tour had cost us $15 each, great value, we really enjoyed it.
Back on the train - experts already - we found our way to the Teramachi Shopping Street, a covered shopping area with a lot of traditional shops. It took a bit to follow the walking directions, not so expert on foot, but we found what we were looking for and meandered through all the little streets.
There were a lot of stationary places with interesting wares, as well as homewares and all sorts of convenience items. Hungry, we were looking for a quick snack but came across a donut shop instead. Ken had a maple bacon and I had matcha chocolate and we also grabbed a coffee. We sat at the counter and watched the staff quietly go about their work as they packed up orders and decorated mini donuts. The donuts are more like biscuits and quite tasty.
We finally found the station again and quickly managed our two stops to the one closest to home. A short walk and back to the haven of our hotel. Time to try out an onsen experience. We changed into our pyjamas, packed our towels into our little baskets and headed down to the baths. Ken went into the men’s, me to the women’s, where we stripped off, washed on a stool and went into the hot pool. We were both alone in our respective baths so being butt naked wasn’t really an issue. The water was quite hot and I’m sure our muscles will appreciate it.
Dinner time and we were back pounding the pavement. Ken had seen a review that looked good so we trekked over there, past our first temple of the day. We found the restaurant but it looked expensive and the menu was just limited to sets. We could see Kyoto Tower high in the sky and headed in that direction. As we grew closer, the number of people on the street increased and we found a few places that looked ok. We settled on a little place that had quite a few people in and once again found a spot at the counter.
We shared a sashimi and some gyoza, both very good. Ken had a beer and I had a grapefruit chu-hai. Apparently its base is sochu, (a Japanese distilled beverage, could be made from many different things). Anyway, it was good. We finished our entrees and our drinks and ordered more. I had the special ramen and Ken had fried spare ribs. The ribs were good, the ramen was spectacular. It was way too much for me to handle, but Ken finished it off as his ribs had not been all that big. The ramen standard has been set.
I was in the mood for something sweet so we went into the Kyoto Yodobashi department store, thinking there would be a food area where we could grab a sweet treat. We got distracted by the massive electronic section. We found the food area, but it was a disappointment. Then we went into the Kyoto Tower food hall. Quite a soulless place, but we found a pancake booth and ordered pancake parfaits - macadamia honey for Ken and choc banana for me. They were good and we were officially stuffed.
Luckily we still had a walk to get home, detouring by the temple to see it lit up at night, a pretty sight. The rain didn’t arrive, but there were a few drops on the way home. A big day, many steps, ready to do it all again tomorrow.
jillmac
2024-05-08
Looks like you’re covering a lot of ground. The gardens are lovely.
Ken
2024-05-10
Your Haikus are catching the moment brilliantly 👏