Literally back on my feet this weekend, I was itching to get out and adventure. Unfortunately I was particularly undecided as to where I should go. After much thought I decided that I hadn't seen half of Kyoto's famous temples yet. Being the cheap-skate I am I decided to take the Hankyu train in (600yen vs. 1050yen for JR.) this deposited my in the Shijo district (North of Kyoto station.)
Looking at a map it seemed like a pretty easy walk to Kinkaku-ji. This brings me to an important point: Never Ever Trust Japanese Maps - EVER. The idea of "scale" seems to have been lost when it comes to Japanese maps. What may look like two blocks in the "downtown" section will end up being 4 kilometers on the outskirts. So, most of my morning was spent hiking half way across Kyoto, which, as it turns out, is not that small of a place.
Kinkaku-ji was pretty much everything you've seen in every piece of Japanese travel literature (see picture below.) One addition you don't usually think about is the concentration of foreigners or the presence every Japanese school kid ever (some of whom I was interviewed by for a class project.)
After the morning's walk I decided it was a good time to try the bus system again. Partly due to my inexperience in reading a Japanese bus schedule as well as my lack of a bus map it took me two buses and another half-hour hike to get to Ginkaku-ji. The main pavilion building here was undergoing major renovations but the rock garden and the moss-covered hillside were still worth the trek.
Getting a better idea of how to utilize the buses (and finding the "Kyoto Sightseeing Route" bus) my next hop, down to Kiyomizi-dera, went smoothly. The walk up the hill from the bus stop to the temple was overly crowded with shops, students, and tourists. The balcony is really a feat of engineering: the fact that it can hold so many sight-seers at once is amazing. Kiyomizu offers a fantastic panorama of Kyoto and would be a great place to watch a sunset (as it faces West.)
Lastly I headed to Kyoto station to get some dinner and photograph the sunset from the roof again. Unfortunately I forgot to charge my battery after last weekend and I ran out of juice after a few interior shots of the station building.
Looking at a map it seemed like a pretty easy walk to Kinkaku-ji. This brings me to an important point: Never Ever Trust Japanese Maps - EVER. The idea of "scale" seems to have been lost when it comes to Japanese maps. What may look like two blocks in the "downtown" section will end up being 4 kilometers on the outskirts. So, most of my morning was spent hiking half way across Kyoto, which, as it turns out, is not that small of a place.
Kinkaku-ji was pretty much everything you've seen in every piece of Japanese travel literature (see picture below.) One addition you don't usually think about is the concentration of foreigners or the presence every Japanese school kid ever (some of whom I was interviewed by for a class project.)
After the morning's walk I decided it was a good time to try the bus system again. Partly due to my inexperience in reading a Japanese bus schedule as well as my lack of a bus map it took me two buses and another half-hour hike to get to Ginkaku-ji. The main pavilion building here was undergoing major renovations but the rock garden and the moss-covered hillside were still worth the trek.
Getting a better idea of how to utilize the buses (and finding the "Kyoto Sightseeing Route" bus) my next hop, down to Kiyomizi-dera, went smoothly. The walk up the hill from the bus stop to the temple was overly crowded with shops, students, and tourists. The balcony is really a feat of engineering: the fact that it can hold so many sight-seers at once is amazing. Kiyomizu offers a fantastic panorama of Kyoto and would be a great place to watch a sunset (as it faces West.)
Lastly I headed to Kyoto station to get some dinner and photograph the sunset from the roof again. Unfortunately I forgot to charge my battery after last weekend and I ran out of juice after a few interior shots of the station building.
The definitive "Picture of Japan"Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion.
The pavilion at Ginkaku-ji is currently being renovated.
The "moon viewing mound" in Ginakaku-ji's rock garden.
Looking down on Ginkaku-ji's main hall from the mountain side.
The main gate at Kiyomizu-drea.Note the throngs of people.
The balcony at Kiyomizu-dera.Again note the throngs of people.
The spring who's water the temple is named.
Finally, a good shot of the inside of Kyoto station.Note, it's not Halloween yet and the Christmas tree is already up.
Wednesday morning was greeted with more indecision. Eventually I decided to re-visit Nara. looking at Google Maps, trying to decide where to go, I remembered that Nara has it's own set of ancient mounded tombs.
Arriving in Nara I headed to a small tomb located near the station. After walking the wrong (read:long) way around the block all I found was a small gated-off tree-covered hill.
After lunch I asked at the tourist information booth if there was a bus that went out to the other mounds on the outskirts of town. (Ha,ha! No more map-deception for me!) Fast forward through waiting for the bus, riding, getting off, walking the extra 20 minutes because the bus doesn't actually go anywhere near the tombs. And we get there to find a wholly un-amazing place. No, I tried really hard to be amazed... I mean these tombs are hundereds of years old, they're huge man-made earthworks. Edit: the mounded tombs in Nara are some of the first "kofun" or key-hole tombs. There are about ten total in the area. They were built in the mid third century A.D. most likely to house the remains of the pre-"Japan" rulers when the country was known as "Wa". Yeah... my advice, if in Nara, skip the tombs.
Arriving in Nara I headed to a small tomb located near the station. After walking the wrong (read:long) way around the block all I found was a small gated-off tree-covered hill.
After lunch I asked at the tourist information booth if there was a bus that went out to the other mounds on the outskirts of town. (Ha,ha! No more map-deception for me!) Fast forward through waiting for the bus, riding, getting off, walking the extra 20 minutes because the bus doesn't actually go anywhere near the tombs. And we get there to find a wholly un-amazing place. No, I tried really hard to be amazed... I mean these tombs are hundereds of years old, they're huge man-made earthworks. Edit: the mounded tombs in Nara are some of the first "kofun" or key-hole tombs. There are about ten total in the area. They were built in the mid third century A.D. most likely to house the remains of the pre-"Japan" rulers when the country was known as "Wa". Yeah... my advice, if in Nara, skip the tombs.
Had I not read about these in Japanese history class I'd have thought it just another tree covered island.Well, actually I wouldn't have taken a bus then walked 20 minutes to see it in the first place.
This site was slightly more interesting in that it had two moats and this gate at one end.That was more or less my weekend. Next weekend is ANOTHER three-day-er. I'm looking to, perhaps, do something a little more long distance (rather than the day trips I've been doing.) In addition I'm taking my first Saturday off in six months this week. I also have a four day weekend coming up mid-november during which I hope to be able to get out of town. Sheesh, with all this free time, it's no wonder I can't come up with enough things to do.
Oh, you may or may not have noticed a new link on the sidebar (over there ==>) that says "More Pictures". I've created a Flickr account and uploaded some of my favorite pictures. It's not the "see all my pictures" solution I was looking for (there's a really low upload cap for Flickr) but you can see some of my non-blog-storytelling pictures. Enjoy!
Jaa Mata Ne.
Oh, you may or may not have noticed a new link on the sidebar (over there ==>) that says "More Pictures". I've created a Flickr account and uploaded some of my favorite pictures. It's not the "see all my pictures" solution I was looking for (there's a really low upload cap for Flickr) but you can see some of my non-blog-storytelling pictures. Enjoy!
Jaa Mata Ne.
1 comment:
Had a bunch of "Oh yeah - I've been there" moments in this blog entry. I even have a little cup they sell you to gather the spring water at the spring on my window sill even as I write this. Hey - next time in Kyoto go to "monkey mountain" - don't know the real name of this place, but you pay a few yen, walk up an easy path to the top of a small mountain, and encounter hundreds of monkeys. Tip: We were told not to look them in the eye as they find this challenging and will pummel you.
Andy's dad.
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