Another day was also very well planned, as otherwise it was highly impossible to see what was on my thoroughly prepared list. And it was just a teeny tiny part of what can be seen in Kyoto. This time we were supposed to leave the area where we stayed, therefore we bought a daily ticket for the Kyoto buses, which costed us 500 yen.
We started our day at the Kinkaku-Ji temple - also known as Golden Pavillion - which is a zen temple in the northern Kyoto, and one of the most iconic buildings of Japan. Also probably it was the most crowded place I have seen in Japan. Zillions of tourists, and fights for the best spot to take a photo of the temple, as well as a guard making sure that the traffic goes smoothly. I imagine it could be really a very zen and spiritual place, but with this number of people it is rather not. Still, it was an absolutely stunning temple (whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf), located in beautiful surroundings.
Five minutes drive from the Kinkaku, there was another famous Zen temple - Ryoan-Ji. Its main attraction is Japan's most famous rock garden. It consists of the plot of pebbles and a few rocks laid out on it. Interestingly, at least one of the rocks is always hidden from the viewer. Several tourists were seating and admiring the zen garden. Maybe I don't understand the zen art, or maybe I'm not enough zen, but one minute of the zen rock garden was enough for me ;-)
Walking to the exit and the main road was very pleasant, as the temple is surrounded by a park with a pond.
Our next destination was the Arashiyama bamboo forest, therefore we moved to the western Kyoto. A long time ago I saw this beautiful place somewhere on a photo and very much wanted to see it, and to show it to Marijn. On the photo it looked so peaceful and magical, in reality - as everything in Japan - it was extremely crowded, still beautiful and very impressive, much more stunning than it can shows on my photos.
We started our day at the Kinkaku-Ji temple - also known as Golden Pavillion - which is a zen temple in the northern Kyoto, and one of the most iconic buildings of Japan. Also probably it was the most crowded place I have seen in Japan. Zillions of tourists, and fights for the best spot to take a photo of the temple, as well as a guard making sure that the traffic goes smoothly. I imagine it could be really a very zen and spiritual place, but with this number of people it is rather not. Still, it was an absolutely stunning temple (whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf), located in beautiful surroundings.
Walking to the exit and the main road was very pleasant, as the temple is surrounded by a park with a pond.
Our next destination was the Arashiyama bamboo forest, therefore we moved to the western Kyoto. A long time ago I saw this beautiful place somewhere on a photo and very much wanted to see it, and to show it to Marijn. On the photo it looked so peaceful and magical, in reality - as everything in Japan - it was extremely crowded, still beautiful and very impressive, much more stunning than it can shows on my photos.
The last point on today's "to see list" was the Fushimi Inari Shrine - one of the most popular and recognizible places in Japan, with its thousands orange torii gates. We took JR and moved to the south of Kyoto.
Fushimi Inari is an important Shinto shrine, dedicated to Inari, the god of rice and sake. Foxes are considered Inari's messengers, thus many statues of those animals can be seen across the shrine grounds.
Tourists are usually less interested into the shrine itself, but rather into the beautiful and magical path of torii gates leading through the forests of Mount Inari. The walk on the trail was very pleasant, we could also admire several smaller shrines located along the way. It was though sometimes a bit challenging to take a photo only of us and the torii gates in the background, but with a little patience we managed ;-)
A great place and a must see in Kyoto.
Last but not least - this evening we had an absolutely delicious dinner at the Shinshin Samurai Restaurant. Highly popular, yet very quiet and cosy - we managed to get a table. Most probably because we were there early, as later on we saw that several other clients were sent away. Typical, traditional and very original (for my European taste) dishes, in beautiful surroundings, served by a very friendly owner. Those were my favorite meals in Japan!
Fushimi Inari is an important Shinto shrine, dedicated to Inari, the god of rice and sake. Foxes are considered Inari's messengers, thus many statues of those animals can be seen across the shrine grounds.
Tourists are usually less interested into the shrine itself, but rather into the beautiful and magical path of torii gates leading through the forests of Mount Inari. The walk on the trail was very pleasant, we could also admire several smaller shrines located along the way. It was though sometimes a bit challenging to take a photo only of us and the torii gates in the background, but with a little patience we managed ;-)
A great place and a must see in Kyoto.
Last but not least - this evening we had an absolutely delicious dinner at the Shinshin Samurai Restaurant. Highly popular, yet very quiet and cosy - we managed to get a table. Most probably because we were there early, as later on we saw that several other clients were sent away. Typical, traditional and very original (for my European taste) dishes, in beautiful surroundings, served by a very friendly owner. Those were my favorite meals in Japan!
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