We had Spring Break all last week, and my parents came and visited me. So, since it is the first and most Japanese place to go to, we went to Kyoto.
WOW, there’s so much to do there. We never even went to anything south of Kyoto station, and all four days were packed with seeing things. Lots of temples, lots of shrines, the Imperial Palace and Second Castle, a couple museums, shopping districts…. It was every day filled with TONS and TONS of pictures. And nope, just like last time, you’re not going to see all of them. That would be INSANITY. But I will upload one picture per place. Many of them will not be “typical” photos, though, because you can find those easily just by Googling. No, I’m putting in the ones I liked best, regardless of how much they show you of the place. Sorry! Anyway, here’s the low-down of what we did:
The hotel:
After a bit of digging around (and me trusting my GPS a little too much), we found it a diagonal block away from the major intersection of Kitano-Hakubaicho: the Duo Inn. It is an apartment-style inn, which means they don’t clean your room every day and there is a kitchenette, and it is much, much cheaper than a real hotel. For our three nights (three night minimum), it was 26,500 yen. That would be about equal to one night at a hotel. We win. And, it was a very nice place. Even though it said it didn’t provide commodities, it still provided toothbrushes and razors and bar soap. You are given one towel and one hand towel per person, and what more do you need, honestly? You’re also supposed to refill your toilet paper yourself, but since we were out all day, we never used enough to need that.
About the places:
Kitano Tenmanguu -
The shrine for the god of philosophy and scholarship. Cool, eh? Points of interesting: the long walkway of stone lanterns, and the statues of cows sprinkled among them. Many folks will rub the head of these cows for good luck, though whether that’s good luck on exams or something else, I don’t know.
Imperial Palace -
Note, you must register before you take the tour. It takes two seconds (and either a passport or a foreign registration card), but be sure to figure that into your visits. English tours at 10 am and 1 pm (if I’m not mistaken). The tour takes about an hour. Anyway, our group was incredibly small – our tour guide said her groups could get up to 150 people, during this time of year. Our group was about fifteen. Yay, earthquake? Anyway, the entirety of the place is interesting, but a couple special points were the painted doors (opened for viewing that day, lucky!), the story of the Imperial Treasures (ask your guide about it!), and the garden.
Heian Jingu -
Shrine for a couple emperors from long ago. Points of interest include the giant gate (down the road from the actual shrine), the tiger and dragon fountains of purification (every shrine has these little fountains with ladles), the amazing architecture of the side two buildings (that’s the picture) and the gardens. The cool thing about the gardens is actually the wildlife; I saw both an egret and a wonderful blue heron there, and a cat! Though there are also a lot of cherry trees, so if you can catch that spring blossoming, it would be beautiful. There is also a building on the premises built as a replica of the very first Imperial Palace.
Yasaka Shrine – Shrine for the dude Susano who slayed the great 8-headed serpent Orochi. They consider him a god, actually. Points of interesting include some pretty scenery all around the grounds, what appears to be a year-round festival (though maybe that was due to the cherry blossoms? They had this there last time we went, too), and a park with a pond in it behind the shrine. It’s also very close to….
Chion-in -
The head Buddhist temple of the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism. It is huge! Notable places are the giant entranceway gate, the beautiful display in the main temple, and the rather tall stairway up to the main grounds. When we were there, though, one of the back buildings was down for construction. Also, please note (as is the same in most temples and shrines), no pictures within the actual temple.
Ginkaku-ji -
Villa built by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa and converted into a Zen temple after his death. He originally planned for silver overlay, but it wasn’t realized before his death. However, it is covered in a black lacquer that is said to shine like silver in the moonlight with the light of the moon reflected from the pond beneath it. Interesting points include the sand garden (which, no offense, I found boring, but is said to represent Mt. Fuji and is considered important), and the great view from the mountain overlooking Kyoto.
Kiyomizudera -
Temple of the Pure Waters. It’s Buddhist again, but unlike many others, this one allows you to not only walk up into the temple itself, but to take pictures of the artifacts they have scattered around. You still are not allowed to take photos inside the main area, but you can of the statues, paintings, architecture, and other things they have inside the building. Beautiful year-round, notable points are the main building insides, like I said, and then from the outside as well, the huge latticed support they have support their viewing deck. The entrance area also has some very nice Shinto-style gates and a pagoda, as well. But perhaps the MOST fun is the small shrine behind the main shrine! Jishu-jinja is dedicated to the god of love, and has two stones – the “love stones” – that, if you can navigate from one to the other with your eyes closed, is said to bring you luck in finding your love. There’s also a small shrine to a god of voodoo (you nail a doll of straw to a tree and pray to this god to curse the other person…) and another to Inari in there.
Teramachi – Shopping district, if you will. There are three huuuuuuuuuuuuuge alleyways with small shop after shop inside. Great for gifts; the prices are pretty cheap there! And, perhaps most fun (for anyone interested), there is a Ninja Restaurant (and a Ninja Crepe Window right next to it!) tucked away on the east side. Good luck finding it!
Nijou-jo -
or “Second Castle,” was built by Tokugawa Ieyasu (and completed during his heir’s reign), and is a true fortress. The Imperial Palace is just that – a palace, a place of dignity and power, but NOT defendable, not very much. Nijou-jo, on the other hand, is very much built with defense in mind. Two moats, gigantic iron-plated doors, archer platforms, sheer, smooth walls, you name it, this castle knows how to keep invaders at bay. Again, the whole thing is interesting, but to me specifically, I loved climbing the walls of the inner castle, plus the huge, heavy gates. The interior of the inner building has a tour, though no photographs or even sketching is allowed of the interior (wow, strict!).
Imperial Tomb – we never did figure out of whom. You can’t enter, it is small, and in the end, not very notable. But it’s not far from our inn, so we stopped by.
Kinkaku-ji -
The Golden Pavilion/Temple/what-have-you. It was a villa belonging to statesman Saionji Kintsune before Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu bought it. Unlike Ginkaku-ji, this one actually is covered in gold leaf. Notable points are, of course, it itself, but also wonderful bell you can ring for a 200-yen donation on your way in, a cute small waterfall along the back path and some delicious ice cream sold at a place near the entrance (you also pass it on the way out, no worries).
Ryouanji -
Originally an estate of the Fujiwara family (and then the Hosokawa line of Fujiwaras), it was converted into a Zen temple by Hosokawa Katsumoto after his death. Famous for its rock garden, I enjoyed much more the interior of the building it was viewable by, the gardens outside, and the large pond with island shrine on it (accessible by bridge, no fear).
Ninnaji -
Built as an imperial residence in the 9th century, it is now a Buddhist temple of the Shingon Sect. You can still tour the inside of the residence. The building is a great old thing, with squeaky floors. You’re allowed to take photographs of the wonderful interior in this one, so in that respect perhaps it is more fulfilling than Nijou-jo for the photographers out there. The paintings on the doors are really beautiful. Other notable parts are the numerous cherry trees; there is a cherry tree garden available for walkthrough when it blossoms. There is also a very old pagoda and several old temple buildings.
The Manga Museum – I could spend a whole day here and never notice. Maybe not all that interesting to those who can’t read Japanese, but it does have a small English (and other foreign languages) book section for those who can’t. Basically, it is a library with special manga exhibits, and all the books are manga. It is said if there were more than two copies printed of the manga, they have a copy (not including doujin, or self-published fan books, however). There are many reading areas, hallways to stand in, chairs and benches here and there, and an astro-turf area outside you can lie at if you prefer the outdoors. Entrance fee is 500 yen, 1000 if you want access to the special exhibit. I didn’t; I was just there to read. Sadly, we only really got to stay for about 45 minutes (we had to get moving before the next place closed). However, it is also notable that your ticket is good for all day, so if you leave you can come back again without repaying the entrance fee.
The Insho Domoto Museum of Fine Arts – dedicated to the artist (Insho Domoto), and all his works. There are replicas and originals, here, and it’s worth a stop if you’re interested in art in any way. He was a pretty talented, multi-varied artist, so you’ll probably find something you like. I personally liked his Princess Konohanasakuya and the hunting picture next to it; huge wall paintings done in three panels put together, it was amazingly delicate, detailed, and beautiful. Not a fan of his more interpretive works, but that’s just me. It’s right between Kinkaku-ji and Ryouanji, so just stop in on your way through.
Other Notable Areas -
1) Gion is fun to walk through, though I always thought it looked perhaps a little seedy.
2) The Kamogawa river is wonderful to see, and if you go across one of the bridges we did, you can see a stepping-stone path that crosses it to the south and a waterfall to the north.
3) There are also a couple antique shops – one near Ginkaku-ji and one to the south of the Imperial Palace – where you might pick up some interesting gadgets, if you’re into that kind of thing.
4) Also, note that part of the fun of both Kiyomizudera and Ginkaku-ji is the walking to it; there are tons of little shops all over the streets on your way up there, selling the typical omiyage/souvenirs. Food, I recommend. Souvenirs, try Teramachi first; it’s probably cheaper. And always, always try the meat buns (nikuman)! They’re delicious!
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