Day #3 in Kyoto (11/3)

It was the 3rd long day in a row of up early and home late. I think I’m getting “templed-out.” This was my day to experience “KPF” (Kathleen Power Falloff).


The day started out very well with our first stop at a Zen Temple, the first Zen one I’ve seen and probably one of my favorite temples on the trip (so far). Ryoanji Temple. It displayed 3 different types of gardens: 1) the contemplative or Kansho style (i.e. rock garden), 2) shuyu style that intends to be viewed from a winding path allowing the garden to unfold itself in stages and from different vantages, and 3) the funa asobi style featuring a garden with a large pond used for pleasure boating.

There is a large pond with an island/tea house in the middle that you get to by crossing over a little stone bridge that’s arched and has a tori gate. So when you look at the island from across the pond, you have very photographic pictures. Sitting on a structure designed to support a tree was a heron, sitting solo looking out over the pond. We took some great photos of the heron through the trees.

We walked to the famous Rock Garden – an oblong of sand with an austere collection of 15 carefully placed rocks. The designer remains unknown. Some people try to interpret the meaning behind the rocks; others meditate on the rock formations and see what flows. There are 4 groupings of rocks and the sand is delicately raked around them. The garden is surrounded by a clay wall. Very peaceful.

After a brief meditation and photo taking, we walked on another path back to the pond for more photos of the birds, trees and island. I saw some interested pine trees along the way. Pruned in the middle so that there is growth at the bottom and a spike at the top. I have never been a garden lover but I am certainly enjoying them on this trip. They are so beautifully designed – pieces of art.

Then we went to a little town called Arashiyama. A little crowded because it was Saturday and the Kyotoites were out in droves. We visited a temple called Tenryuji. We didn’t go through the actual buildings but wandered through the rock gardens and up the mountain to see the town and Kyoto in the distance.

Behind the temple was a bamboo forest. Bamboo is such an interesting tree – tall poles with little leaves at the top all growing right next to each other.

We walked through the local park to the river where people were boating. On the opposite side of the river was a mountain covered in deciduous trees – very lush. Chie bought something with cooked cabbage, dough and other items I couldn’t discern for me and Donald to eat. I think it’s called okonomiyaki. Odd tasting. Dennis got octopus inside fried dough!

We walked through the town’s crowded streets asking people we passed “eki wa doko desuka?” (where’s the train station). After asking several folks, we finally did get to the right spot. And we headed back to Kyoto. At this point, I was hungry. And I really wanted to eat food I could recognize. So, not that I am a big fan of McDonald’s, that’s what I wanted. The rest of the group headed off to see a pagoda and I went to McD’s for a chicken sandwich, fries and a diet coke! Since they have picture menus, it's pretty easy to order. And it was tasty.

We headed back out to Uja (nearby town to Kyoto) to see the famous Byodoin Temple. It was built in 1053 and is still standing in its original form. Many of the temples I have seen have burned down at one point or another and have been rebuilt but not this one. And there were some of the original wood boddishavatas (sp?) from the temple in the museum. Very interesting – some playing musical instruments, others looking playful. There’s one in Hawaii modeled after this one. This temple is on the back of the 10 Yen piece.

When we finished we trouped on the Fushimi-Inari, a shrine with hundreds of tori gates that wind up the mountain. We were chasing the sun at this point and I was completely wilted, standing up sleeping on the train. But Chie pushed us forward to this last shrine. We walked up part of the way through a tunnel of bright orange tori gates. During the daylight, it would have been very cool.

We ended up back in Kyoto at a dinner place I picked -- you order your dinner at the vending machine and then sit down to have it served to you. Recognizable food dishes – I was happy. The end of a very long day.