Ok, now that I've survived the mutant death virus that has been rampaging through my office, I can get back to my normal blogging activities! Everyone, be careful out there. I learned the hard way to keep a can of lysol and hand sanitizer on hand to keep those pesky germs away. Now, all I need is a taser to keep the infected employees from loitering around my desk. It's surprising how many do.
Anywho, on to my travels!
So we left off at the bus station at Kyoto Station. Once we had our tickets in hand, we hopped out to the loop to wait for our bus to arrive. Bus lines are much harder to navigate than the train lines. Perhaps it is just my illiteracy in Japanese. Of course, it also could have been that I had been up since 4 am. For whatever reason, we made it to the bus we wanted, which was thankfully not crowded. I'd only been in the country for a few days; I wasn't ready to deal with the physical onslaught that is Japanese rush hour on public transportation.
Despite the fact that Japanese buses aren't as direct in their travel as the trains or subway (and they have to fight through all the car and pedestrian traffic), they are quite efficient. And, just like any other mode of public transportation in Japan, it leaves on schedule with or without you. It took about 10-15 minutes and one transfer to get to the stop closest to our first temple of the morning: the Kiyomizu temple.
It wasn't surprising to learn that the buses didn't run right up to the temple, espeically considering that this particular temple was sequestered half way into the forest. Much like European cities (well, any city that's not found in North America), the streets were quite narrow. There was no way a bus was going to even fit up the roads; I was surprised that cars even got up there! So, if we wanted to see it, we would have to hoof it. Now, having grown up on the coast of Florida, the largest hill I came across was the bridge over the river to the mainland. Even Tokyo was relatively flat.
Not Kyoto.
Kyoto is actually of higher elevation than Tokyo since it's getting into the foothills of a very mountainous region of Japan (I didn't have any luck finding a name for the range). The temple itself is on the slopes of Mount Higashiyama, so basically we had to climb a side of a mountain to get there (sounds much more dramatic than it really is ;) ) I was hoping this would work to my advantage and I would get to see some snow due to colder temperatures. But, of course, no snow (that came a week AFTER I left Japan. I'm cursed).
That isn't to say it wasn't cold. It was freezing. Especially on this particular morning. It was pretty early when we were out there, and it didn't help that the sun wasn't high enough to sufficently warm anything. Again, living in a tropical climate, my winter clothes consist of a couple long sleeve shirts, the occasional sweater, and a quasi-heavy jacket (did I meantion that I don't normally own any socks?). None of which did any good in Japan. Taka's mom graciously let me borrow one of her jackets (see: puffy blue gigantor parka) which was way too big on me, meaning it would completely swallow Taka's mom. I think it might have belonged to Taka's dad or brother at one point. Anyway, point being, it was too big to actually keep me warm, but I was thankful for it nonetheless.
The temple was about a 15-20 minute painfully uphill walk from our bus stop. The mystery of why Japanese people manage to stay skinny has been discovered. No Stairmasters needed! Taka was perfectly fine being the athlete that he is, but Ann and I moaned, whined and cried our way to the top. It was rough, and it just wasn't the screaming calf muscles either. Thinner and colder air made it harder to breath. But, we persevered through the hike (and Taka's ridiculing) and in the end it was completely worth it.
Anywho, on to my travels!
So we left off at the bus station at Kyoto Station. Once we had our tickets in hand, we hopped out to the loop to wait for our bus to arrive. Bus lines are much harder to navigate than the train lines. Perhaps it is just my illiteracy in Japanese. Of course, it also could have been that I had been up since 4 am. For whatever reason, we made it to the bus we wanted, which was thankfully not crowded. I'd only been in the country for a few days; I wasn't ready to deal with the physical onslaught that is Japanese rush hour on public transportation.
Despite the fact that Japanese buses aren't as direct in their travel as the trains or subway (and they have to fight through all the car and pedestrian traffic), they are quite efficient. And, just like any other mode of public transportation in Japan, it leaves on schedule with or without you. It took about 10-15 minutes and one transfer to get to the stop closest to our first temple of the morning: the Kiyomizu temple.
It wasn't surprising to learn that the buses didn't run right up to the temple, espeically considering that this particular temple was sequestered half way into the forest. Much like European cities (well, any city that's not found in North America), the streets were quite narrow. There was no way a bus was going to even fit up the roads; I was surprised that cars even got up there! So, if we wanted to see it, we would have to hoof it. Now, having grown up on the coast of Florida, the largest hill I came across was the bridge over the river to the mainland. Even Tokyo was relatively flat.
Not Kyoto.
Kyoto is actually of higher elevation than Tokyo since it's getting into the foothills of a very mountainous region of Japan (I didn't have any luck finding a name for the range). The temple itself is on the slopes of Mount Higashiyama, so basically we had to climb a side of a mountain to get there (sounds much more dramatic than it really is ;) ) I was hoping this would work to my advantage and I would get to see some snow due to colder temperatures. But, of course, no snow (that came a week AFTER I left Japan. I'm cursed).
That isn't to say it wasn't cold. It was freezing. Especially on this particular morning. It was pretty early when we were out there, and it didn't help that the sun wasn't high enough to sufficently warm anything. Again, living in a tropical climate, my winter clothes consist of a couple long sleeve shirts, the occasional sweater, and a quasi-heavy jacket (did I meantion that I don't normally own any socks?). None of which did any good in Japan. Taka's mom graciously let me borrow one of her jackets (see: puffy blue gigantor parka) which was way too big on me, meaning it would completely swallow Taka's mom. I think it might have belonged to Taka's dad or brother at one point. Anyway, point being, it was too big to actually keep me warm, but I was thankful for it nonetheless.
The temple was about a 15-20 minute painfully uphill walk from our bus stop. The mystery of why Japanese people manage to stay skinny has been discovered. No Stairmasters needed! Taka was perfectly fine being the athlete that he is, but Ann and I moaned, whined and cried our way to the top. It was rough, and it just wasn't the screaming calf muscles either. Thinner and colder air made it harder to breath. But, we persevered through the hike (and Taka's ridiculing) and in the end it was completely worth it.
The temple compound is actually quite large with about 18 different buildings and shrines over several acres of land. I most definitely didn't get pictures of all of them. The entrance is dramatic but understated at the same time. The architecture was absoutely amazing yet not at all ostentatious; it was quite humble in away. I definitely like that about it. It left me with a sense of bewonderment but also a sense of peace. I guess it hadn't gotten cold enough for all the leaves to die and fall off. Lucky for me, since Kyoto is noted for it's brilliant maple leaves in the fall. I guess if I couldn't see snow, I could at least enjoy something of autumn.
Now, of course, I wasn't inside the temple grounds more than 10 minutes before I made a cultural faux pas. Fair warning to anyone else who happens to find themselves at a Buddhist temple, there is apparently a specific directional path you are supposed to take while touring the grounds. I had no idea and went along my merry way of bouncing back and forth between areas to take pictures. Taka eventually tracked me down and told me I had to follow the arrows. Now, in my defense, all of the signs were in Japanese, and while this isn't an excuse, it does make it difficult for foreigners to know what the signs actually mean when there isn't any sort of instruction we can understand. I saw them, but I figured they were just saying "shrine this way" or "temple exit this way". Oh well, now I know. I'm curious if the directional path is actually a Buddhist thing or if it's to keep tourists from wandering off a cliff (or to somewhere else they shouldn't be going). Hmmm....
Anyway, when we first got into the entrance area, there was the nioh-mon gate, which is the Red Gate, and the shourou, which is the bell tower. There was also a pagoda and a small small shrine. The shrine wasn't open yet, but the souvenir and omikuji stands were open. Omikuji is like the Japanese version of a fortune cookie, only you can't eat it and it's not always a good fortune. Sounds depressing, but it's actually kind of fun (maybe because I can't read the fortune and realize how bad it is :P). In a nutshell, you pay the fee (for each of us, it was ¥100), and you shake the box of sticks until one falls out of the hole (harder than it sounds). The number etched on the stick determines what fortune you get. Ann got an "ichi" stick, which had the Japanese kanji for the number one etched on it. This is very lucky and very rare, thus she got 大吉 (dai-kitchi, meaning great blessing). I got a "sanjyunana" (37) stick, which resulted in a 半吉 (han-kitchi, meaning half blessing..better than a curse, I guess!) I don't remember what Taka got, but it was bad. He quickly tied it on the poles next to the temple and said a prayer, which is supposed to aid in warding off the bad luck from the bad fortune.
(picture by Ann) Witness Ann's amazing great blessing! (picture by Ann)
After retrieving our fortunes, we decided to walk the grounds a bit. Any temple or shrine will have some sort water receptacle, and usually it has many. The water, much like holy water is used in Catholicism, is a means to purify your body before entering the temple (or just to purify in general...but it's a must before you go into the actual temple). The laddle is used to pour water over your hands and as a cup from which to drink the water. Gotta purify your insides too!
Sometimes they were plain (picture by Ann):
And sometimes they are decorated (picture by Ann):
Either way, the water was C.O.L.D.
Once we bought our tickets to get in (¥300-400, I believe), we made our way to the main shrine. The proper way to pray is the pay small donation , ¥5 (a nickle) being the best, by tossing it into the slotted box, then solidly clap twice and then say your prayer. Some people bowed once or twice before leaving and some didn't. I assumed that this was a rare occasion in which bowing was optional. To be honest, I felt a little ridiculous clapping my hands and going through the motions, mostly because I was foreigner and not Buddhist. But, I saw a lot of temples and did a lot of hand-clapping and praying. I eventually got over it. In this particular temple, there were multipe shrines, each to different dieties, I imagine. I'm not sure which deity this is though.
(pictures by Ann)
It is hard to miss the main shrine to Buddha. Surprisingly, the actual statue is somewhat hard to see, even in person. Another tradition in the art of praying in temples is the lighting of incense. Again, much like the way incense is used in Catholic churches (and many other religions at that), it is a means of purification. You purchase (though, sometimes it's free) 2-3 sticks of incense and use the pre-lit candle to light them. Once they are smoldering, you stick them in the sand and let the smoke float around you. Another offering, two claps, and a prayer later, you're done.
(pictures by Ann)
Another famous shrine within Kiyomizu temple complex is the Jishu-jinja, which is a shrine dedicated to the god of love and "good matches". There's a statue to the deity (see my photo above) as well as a slew of stands selling "good luck in love" charms. Also, legend has it that if you can walk, with your eyes closed, a straight line between the two "love fortune-telling" stones which are set 30 ft apart, you will have good luck in love. I was only off by a couple inches, but then again, I've got Taka, so perhaps the deity was pissed I wasted his time. :P It could be because I can't walk a straight line to save my life, too. I would fail the DUI line test even if I was sober. 
(photos by Ann)
Finally, we pass another main attraction for which the entire temple is named: Otowa no taki or Otowa waterfall. Kiyomizu means "pure water" and the water Otowa falls is believed to have curative properties. It is also believed that should you drink from the right fountain, you will become intellegent, from the middle you will become handsome and from the left brings longevity. Of course, drink from all three and bring misfortune as a consequence of your greed. For ¥500 a cup, you may drink some of the water. We were cheap and opted out, but it seems quite a popular attraction from what I've read.
After about an hour or so we found our way out. As we were leaving, we notice a large group of tourists around the Red Gate, so it looked like we were leaving just as the tourists were arriving. The lack of noisy visitors helped add to the tranquility of our visit. For once on my entire trip I was thankful for my jet lag.
Stay tuned for the rest of our day visiting the Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion) and the Kinkakuji (Gold Pavilion)!
(A very big thank you to Ann who took some wonderful pictures of things I didn't think to photograph! You saved me big time :) )
