Kyoto day 5: high culture day

Thursday, April 10, 2014
Kyoto, Kinki, Japan
We started the day by visiting a majestic Buddhist temple called Sanjusangen-do, which houses 1001 statues of Kannon, the deity of mercy and 28 guardian deities that protect Kannon and Buddhism. The building itself is fairly simple: a long narrow hall with a veranda that used to be a centre of many archery tournaments in Edo period. The most impressive part of the temple is, of course, rows and rows of glittering statues, each holding various object in 40 arms and praying with another pair of arms. In the middle of the hall, surrounded by four heavenly kings and offerings of sake and candles, sits a huge Kannon with a blissful expression on all 11 heads. The temple is a majestic sight indeed.

After, we walked to the train station again and had some breakfast at a fancy cafe, then bought a day pass for the city bus and took a bus to Nijo castle . The castle was built by the first shogun of Edo period in 1603 as his Kyoto residence and it was built to impress and show power. The sliding doors (fusuma) inside the castle are painted beautifully with scenes of natural world. The floors of the castle are equipped with an ancient security system and will squeak loudly when stepped on, alarming guards (see nightingale floor). The castle also has a beautiful garden and blossoming sakuras, which are past full bloom now and are raining myriads of petals, like pink blizzard.

Since we had some time to kill before the geisha performance in the evening, we had some quick lunch at an udon place (where you got noodles and could add as much soup as you wanted on top), and then checked out the very interestingĀ Kyoto International Manga Museum. The museum is located in an old school building and we were able to see some preserved offices and classrooms from the beginning of 19th century. There are thousands of manga books that are stored in the museum and visitors are allowed to borrow them to read in the school yard, sitting on the grass or benches . There was an interesting exhibition on chronology of manga, and there I found the first volume of Sailor Moon, so my sister should be jealous :)

After exiting that manga nerd paradise, we took a bus to the downtown area again, had some dessert there (I ordered two cakes due to misunderstanding) and finally walked to Gionkobu Kaburenjo theatre that celebrates the beginning of Spring with a splendid annualĀ Miyako Odori performance. This year's performance was 142nd. Miyako Odori gives geiko (geisha in Kyoto dialect) and maiko (apprentice geisha) an opportunity to demonstrate their artistic talents to a wider audience. The ticket prices range from $20 to $40, so pretty much anyone has a chance to enjoy one of the highest cultures of Japan. The performance was simply magical: vibrant kimonos, elegant dancers moving in unison both fluidly and precisely, traditional music and songs as well as fantastic stage backdrops were all amazing! Unfortunately, no photography was allowed at the event, and words alone are not enough to describe it. So, I would simply recommend visiting Kyoto in April, the experience will be worth it!

After returning back to the hotel, we were treated to another one of Japan's high cultures: kaiseki ryori dinner. These dinners were traditionally served in ryokans (Japanese-style inns), so we asked the owners to prepare us one today. Around 7 pm we were called down to a dinner room, where a short table was prepared for us . Kaiseki ryori is served as many small dishes, usually local or seasonal delicacies. The courses included appetizers (beautifully prepared and presented), soup, sashimi, deep fried dish, steamed dish (I assume it was chawanmushi, the weirdest thing I've tried in Japan: egg custard flavoured with fish stock, and containing some sort of a rice ball with fish pieces inside), boiled dish (tiny squids and shrimp), hot pot dish with beef, pickles and cantaloupe with strawberries for dessert. It was another amazing experience of the day!

After the dinner we rested a bit and then walked to nearby Kiyomizudera temple to see nighttime illumination. There were some people at the temple, but considerable fewer than during the day.We walked through the famous wooden terrace hanging over a hill and took some wonderful photos. The temple looked even more mysterious and majestic at night, flooded in lights and without endless rushing crowds of tourists. At 10 pm, temple's stuff and policemen herded all visitors outside, thanked each other for hard work and shut off the lights . So, we had nothing to do but to head down to the hotel.

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This is the final day in Kyoto, and though I am very satisfied with how much stuff we managed to see and do here, such a short time is never enough to fully understand and appreciate this magical city of temples, shrines, high culture and tradition, where gold-covered buildings reflect in tranquil ponds and unusual treasures can be found on every corner of its narrow maze-like streets.
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Comments

Irina
2014-04-10

Is it on the earth?
Marvellous, unreal .

2025-02-18

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