お久しぶりです。
After having been absent from my LJ for over a month, here I am back again, healthy, hungry and willing to write X3
Thanks to all those kind people who replied on my last entry. Don't worry, I'm all fine now! Thanks also to my friends and my family who made my time in Berlin the best. I consider myself absolutely lucky to have such friends and such a caring family.
On with the report on my to trip to the Kinki region (近畿地方). My original intention was to split it into a report on Hiroshima and another one on Kyoto, but then I figured I should just do it together, because otherwise it'd just take even more time ... After all, that trip was in February!!
Overall Impression
This trip from February 21st to February 24th was organised and paid (!!) by Tokai University for the Russian and German exchange students as a part of the exchange program. Since we had a really tight schedule it was stressfull and exhausting, but looking back now, I really appreciate the fact that every tiny detail was planned beforehand - otherwise we definitely wouldn't have been able to see as much as we did.
Our stay in Hiroshima was short but nonetheless very interesting, Miyajima definitely has some of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen and Kyoto is simple beauty. I kind of regret that we didn't get to see Osaka and Nara, but I'll try and visit them later on my own.
Due to the image heaviness I put every day under a seperate cut, so you can choose which one you want to see.
出発 - Departure
The departure. We met our teachers at Odawara station and hopped on the shinkansen (新幹線 - yup, the famous bullet train) to Nagoya, there changed to another Shinkansen bound for Hiroshima. And yes, they really are fast ... my poor ears >o<
By the way, did you know the different types of Shinkansen?
They're named according to their speed. The names differ depending on the line, as for the Tokaido-line (that connects Tokyo and Kyoto), they are named as follows:
The slowest is called "Kodama" (こだま - echo), followed by "Hikari" (ひかり - light). Thus, the fastest train had to be named after something that's faster than light... It's an example of Japanese pure thinking that the newest type was therefore called "Nozomi" (のぞみ - wish).
Hikari on the left (or on top... depends on your screen resolution) and Nozomi on the right (bottom). Am I the only one who thinks that the Hikari type is much prettier??
広島 縮景園 - Hiroshima Shukkeien
Our first stop in Hiroshima: Shukkeien (縮景園) a beautiful historic Japanese garden.
On the picture above you can see the Takuei Pond (濯纓池), the pavillion in the back is called Yuyu-tei (悠々亭). I've always been a fan of Japanese gardens. I love the quiet surface of the water and the different shades of green of the trees, bushes and moss. Am I imagining things or does Japanese flora offer a broder variety of green shades than in Europe?
The pond again, this time the opposite direction showing Kokoukyou bridge (跨虹橋).
The Plum orchard of the park. As you can see, it was crowded with people. No wonder, everyone would want to take pretty pictures of these shineys, wouldn't they?
広島平和記念公園 - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
Our next stop was the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. It's located in the center of Hiroshima, south of the bridge over wich the atom bomb exploded. There are a variety of monuments and buildings in the park, each dedicated to a different aspect of the bombing. Seeing the monuments and visiting the museum later propably left a permament impression on all of us. You could notice a deep silence among the students afterwards. I don't really know what to write about this park, it's propably best to visit it yourself and get an impression on your own.
I guess this picture doesn't need much explanation. You can see the Genbaku Dome (原爆ドーム) or A-Bomb dome, the ruins of the former Industrial Promotion Hall a mere 150 metres away from the hypocenter. This building is part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 1996.
Every single visitor is encouraged to ring this bell for world peace. Actually, you can hear its sound throughout the Memorial Park.
The Memorial Cenotaph (原爆死没者慰霊碑) in the center of the park attracts thousands of visitors every year. The monument you can see on this picture only covers the actual centotaph, which holds the names of all people killed by the bomb. The epitaph in front of it reads: "Repose ye in Peace, for the error shall not be repeated." (「安らかに眠って下さい 過ちは 繰返しませぬから」). I stood right in front of it when I took the picture. As you can see, it forms a perfect line with the A-Bomb Dome and the Peace Flame.
広島平和記念資料館 - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
No pictures this time, because no pictures can capture what is in there. Neither can words, so I'll just leave it with the comment that apparently Hiroshima has put (and still does) a lot of effort into coping with its past.
宮島 - Miyajima
Still coping with various impressions we got on a ferry for Miyajima (宮島), an island in the Seto Inland Sea (瀬戸内海). Actually the official name of the island is Itsukushima (厳島), but it's more popularly known as Miyajima, the "Shrine Island", for its famous shrine about which I'll write later. The island is also on of the "Three Views of Japan" (日本三景) - three landscapes that are considered the most beautiful throughout Japan.
What really -positively- surprised me was the cleansing serenity there: No convenience stores, not even traffic signs. After all, this island was considered sacred. Thus, neither births nor deaths were allowed on the island, as both are considered "dirty" in Shinto belief.
Still on the ferry, we could see the breathtaking scenery of the slowly setting sun on the numerous oyster farms in the Seto Inland Sea.
The island is also famous for its hundreds of tame deers, wich are protected as divine messengers of Itsukushima Shrine.
We spent the night at Kinsuikan (錦水館) an expensive looking Japanese style resort close to the shrine. This was our room.
High class Japanese luxury X3 Even more impressive than the rooms were the meals: 13 courses and more @.@
For it was still early we went to explore the quiet island. On the picture above you can the beautiful gate in front of the shrine. You can find these in front of every shrine, but this one is exeptionally big and thus called "big gate" (大鳥居). Use the people on that picture as a scale in order to imagine its size - it's huge! Another special feauture of this gate (and the whole shrine): It is built in the water, so while you can easily walk through it when the tide is low, the whole construction seems to be floating on the water during high tide. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see it during high tide ;A;
Back at the inn, we put on yukata (light cotton kimonos) and spent some time at the bar, when one of the nice Japanese staff members asked if she should take a picture of us. ...I didn't realise everyone striking poses, which is why I'm the only one looking normal on that photo (and sticking out by doing so >.<). From left to right: Me, Jana, Matthias, Candy and Robert. Please excuse the blurriness, and please nevermind the socks and slippers...
After I took a refreshing bath in the Onsen (温泉 - hot spring ... my first time actually) I went out to take some more photos of the Ootorii. I really like how this shot came out. You can even see the crescent moon.
厳島神社 - Itsukushima Shrine
The next morning we got up early, ate our (Japanese style) breakfast and visited the shrine and some other sites on the island.
Itsukushima Shrine, too, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I was actually standing under the Ootorii when I took this picture. It's not easy to get a shot of the whole shrine construction and I still don't really like this picture, it doesn't do justice to the beauty there. (ToT)
This bridge was closed for trespassing but apparently it was actually being used once. How on earth is anyone supposed to be able to cross this bridge if not crawling on all fours??
This nearly 30m high pagoda was build in 5-story style (五重塔) and could even be seen from the ferry.
This hall, Senjokaku (千畳閣) was built in 1578, but never completed due to the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi under which it was started.
It is nevertheless a breathtaking appeareance because of its huge size. The name Senjokaku describes it: One thousand tatami mats (about 1 300 m²). In 1872, the hall was renamed to Hokoku Shrine (豊国神社) and dedicated to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
京都 - Kyoto
After all souvenir shopping was done, we got on the ferry again an left Miyajima for our next destination: *drum roll* Kyoto!
Every one I know who has visited the old imperial city used the most colourful superlatives to describe it. Now I know they weren't exaggerating. Kyoto is of magnificent beauty. Not only beause it is home to many old houses, shrines and temples, but also as a modern city. Everytime I find myself in the crowded streets of Tokyo, literally wedged between skyscrapers, I yearn for Kyoto, where all building are of considerable height so you can actually see the horizon (which is simply impossible on the streets of Tokyo). The reason is simple: In Kyoto there's a regulation that forbids to building that exceed a certain height, so they won't draw the attention from Kyoto's historical sites. Of course, since it it only a regulation and no law, recently the number of scyscraping hotels is increasing. The same regulation also forbids too strong colors, so some labels of certain chain stores or brands look different in Kyoto. But that, too, is often turned a blind eye to. Quit that, stupid, attention seeking, greedy people!
Apart from that I was absolutely thankful for how the city is arranged: The road network looks like a chess board and most of the streets have names, so it's easy to figure out your position in case your lost. ... Yes... I managed to get lost on our second night in Kyoto. I was looking for a decent newspaper shop and somehow ended up far west and had to walk all the way back to our inn, which was in the east district.
二条城 - Nijo Castle
Our first stop in Kyoto was Nijo Castle (二条城). It was build in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu. It consists of two palaces, Honmaru and Ninomaru Palace (本丸、二の丸御殿), and wide gardens.
On the picture above you can see the richly adorned main gates to Ninomaru palace (二の丸御殿), one of the two main buildings.
Ninomaru palace. The most striking feature of Nijo Castle are the "nightingale floors" in the corridors: When you walk along the corridors the floor squeaks like birds. This invention was done in order to protect the occupants of the palace from attacks by assassins - they could easily hear them coming. The assassins, on the other hand wouldn't notice that they were heard because they'd think it were the birds outside making noises. Clever huh? And the construction still works.
平安神宮 - Heian Jingu
Our next stop: Heian Jingu. I was kind of surprised that this shinto shrine is actually fairly new: It was built 1895.
The main building of the shrine, Shaden (社殿). It was designed to imitate the Kyoto Imperial Palace. As you can propably see, I took several pictures in a row and stitched them together afterwards. Hence the strange "seam" in the middle of the picture. I didn't manage to adjust the colours properly...
The torii in front of Heian Jingu is not as big as the one in Miyajima, but still one of the biggest in Japan. On top of that it's a perfect example of how peacefully traditional sites and modern facilities coexist in Kyoto.
On the shrine grounds there was also a beautiful garden. On the picture above you can see Taiheikaku (泰平閣), a bridge-like construction in the eastern gardens.
After that exhausting 2nd day of our trip, we (finally?) got to our inn in Kyoto: Kamokawakan (加茂川館). Not as pretty as the inn on Miyajima (hence no pictures), but with nice staffing and yummy food.
金閣寺 - The Golden Pavilion
The Golden Pavilion is without question one the most widely known temple in Japan. You could even feel that on the temple grounds. You could literally feel and see it. I personally don't consider the temple that pretty, but what really cracked me up were the tourists and all the merchandising. It was damn hard to get a picture of anything without having some middle-aged Korean or Chinese woman on it and the souvenir shop at the exit was stuffed with cheap (and cheap looking) plastic miniatures of the temple - made in China.
The Golden Pavilion next to the "Mirror Pond" (鏡湖池 - Kyokochi). Maybe the Pavilion would've been perttier if it hadn't been for the rainy weather that morning...
Do you remember omikuji? I wrote about these small strips of paper with random fortunes written on it. Usually the people at the temple/shrine sell it, or you can get it yourself out of a small wooden box. But NEVER, NEVER have I seen huge, disturbing red machines selling them in four languages. Aaaaaarggh! That' s what I meant with stupid tourist service.
龍安寺 - Ryoanji
This Zen temple is widely known for its stone garden. Another UNESCO World Heritage site. It was quite some contrast to the Golden Pavilion: Nearly no tourists and an atmosphere of pure tranquility.
The famous dry garden. There are 15 rocks in this garden, but no matter from which angle you look at it (except from above), you'll only see 14 of them. It is said, that you'll be able to see the 15th rock only through enlightment.
嵐山 - Arashiyama
Arashiyama refers to both a mountan and a district in the western part of Kyoto. We went there for lunch and to buy some souvenirs. As for we could decide on our own how to spent the 2 hours there, I went for a walk to enjoy the beautiful scenery. The weather had finally cleared up and the sunlight was absolutely mood lifting.
One of the popular sites at Arashiyama: The bamboo grove (竹林).
三十三間堂 - Sanjusangendo
No pictures again. It is forbidden to take pictures inside of this temple. But even if it were allowed, I propably wouldn't have taken any, because it just wouldn't feel right. In the main hall there are 1001 (!!) Kannon statues, and none of them looks like the other, they all differ in tiny details, e.g. the height, shape of the eyes, etc. Absolutely breathtaking piece of Japanese art.
清水寺 - Kiyomizu Temple
The day ended as it had begun: With loads of tourists and souvenir shops. This time I successfully ignored the American tourists buying "I Love Japan" T-shirts.
The Kiyomizu temples are located east of Kyoto and an outstanding example of Japanese architecture. And yes, you might have already guessed it: Yet another UNESCO World Heritage site.
On January 1, 2006, Kiyomizu Temple was included on the list of candidates for the New Seven Wonders of the World. Thus, you could see banners reading "Vote for Kiyomizu!" everywhere ... Well, it certainly is an astounding building. You'll see why.
The entrance.
Kyoto as seen from Kiyomizu Temple. You can even see Kyoto Tower X3
Here you can see the most intersting part: The temple is actually build on a 13m high wooden pillar construction. This stage-like construction even made into a Japanese proverb: "To jump off the stage at Kiyomizu." (「清水の舞台から飛び降りる」) describes the act of doing something that is highly unlikely to succeed. The English equivalent would propably be "to take the plunge". It is said that if you survived jumping off that stage a wish would be granted. Actually, quite a lot of people tried. And thanks to the trees and bushes below the stage over 80% of them survived.
おまけ - Special
Out of context - just for fun: me wearing the inn's yukata on the second night, after taking a relaxing bath. I edited the background, because the walls in our room were kind of ugly... You can tell, that I'm way to tall for Japanese standards XD
哲学の道 - Philosopher's Walk
Our last day had come. Half a day free time. Actually it was kind of hard to decide, where to go, there were quite a lot sites left that we wanted to see, but we had neither enough money nor time to visit them all. In the end, we (the German students that is, by the way) decided to follow the Philospher's Walk up to the Silver Pavilion.
The Philosopher's Walk is a narrow street, sometimes a mere footpath in the north-eastern part of Kyoto. Following this walk you pass numerous temples, shrines and beautiful traditional houses.
Nearly no tourists, just the sound of the small stream.
銀閣寺 - The Silver Pavilion
Walking along the Philosopher's Walk we noticed that the number of tourists was increasing: The Pavilion was near. It wasn't as crowded as the Golden Pavilion, though. The Silver Pavilion was built almost 100 years later than the Golden Pavilion and actually meant to emulate it.
The Pavilion. You might wonder why it is called Silver Pavilion. It was intended to cover it with silver, but construction work was halted due to the Onin war.
After that, we went back to Kyoto Main Station where both my knee and my ego where deeply hurt when I fell running to the platform and set off back to Tokai University. ;.;
Absurdities in daily life Japan
Found at our inn on Miyajima:
A ... er... an automatic umbrella bagging machine. I've seen this in Shinjuku once, but this time I finally was able to take a picture. You stick your umbrella into it and the machine will cover it with a plastic bag. Convenient, maybe, because this way you don't wet stuff inside the store/hotel or yourself, but then again it's just another garbage producing device in Japan - the land of double wrappings and one-way packaging... Japanese sure have a strange relationship to their umbrellas.
Yo. I'm done. Finally. Off to bed now. *snooooore*
PS: (writing while sleeping??) Just so you know: My fangirliness has reached a new level: When I read the news on Jin's return I caught myself dancing merrily in our room at 9 a.m.
Thanks to all those kind people who replied on my last entry. Don't worry, I'm all fine now! Thanks also to my friends and my family who made my time in Berlin the best. I consider myself absolutely lucky to have such friends and such a caring family.
On with the report on my to trip to the Kinki region (近畿地方). My original intention was to split it into a report on Hiroshima and another one on Kyoto, but then I figured I should just do it together, because otherwise it'd just take even more time ... After all, that trip was in February!!
Overall Impression
This trip from February 21st to February 24th was organised and paid (!!) by Tokai University for the Russian and German exchange students as a part of the exchange program. Since we had a really tight schedule it was stressfull and exhausting, but looking back now, I really appreciate the fact that every tiny detail was planned beforehand - otherwise we definitely wouldn't have been able to see as much as we did.
Our stay in Hiroshima was short but nonetheless very interesting, Miyajima definitely has some of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen and Kyoto is simple beauty. I kind of regret that we didn't get to see Osaka and Nara, but I'll try and visit them later on my own.
Due to the image heaviness I put every day under a seperate cut, so you can choose which one you want to see.
出発 - Departure
The departure. We met our teachers at Odawara station and hopped on the shinkansen (新幹線 - yup, the famous bullet train) to Nagoya, there changed to another Shinkansen bound for Hiroshima. And yes, they really are fast ... my poor ears >o<
By the way, did you know the different types of Shinkansen?
They're named according to their speed. The names differ depending on the line, as for the Tokaido-line (that connects Tokyo and Kyoto), they are named as follows:
The slowest is called "Kodama" (こだま - echo), followed by "Hikari" (ひかり - light). Thus, the fastest train had to be named after something that's faster than light... It's an example of Japanese pure thinking that the newest type was therefore called "Nozomi" (のぞみ - wish).
Hikari on the left (or on top... depends on your screen resolution) and Nozomi on the right (bottom). Am I the only one who thinks that the Hikari type is much prettier??
広島 縮景園 - Hiroshima Shukkeien
Our first stop in Hiroshima: Shukkeien (縮景園) a beautiful historic Japanese garden.
On the picture above you can see the Takuei Pond (濯纓池), the pavillion in the back is called Yuyu-tei (悠々亭). I've always been a fan of Japanese gardens. I love the quiet surface of the water and the different shades of green of the trees, bushes and moss. Am I imagining things or does Japanese flora offer a broder variety of green shades than in Europe?
The pond again, this time the opposite direction showing Kokoukyou bridge (跨虹橋).
The Plum orchard of the park. As you can see, it was crowded with people. No wonder, everyone would want to take pretty pictures of these shineys, wouldn't they?
広島平和記念公園 - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
Our next stop was the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. It's located in the center of Hiroshima, south of the bridge over wich the atom bomb exploded. There are a variety of monuments and buildings in the park, each dedicated to a different aspect of the bombing. Seeing the monuments and visiting the museum later propably left a permament impression on all of us. You could notice a deep silence among the students afterwards. I don't really know what to write about this park, it's propably best to visit it yourself and get an impression on your own.
I guess this picture doesn't need much explanation. You can see the Genbaku Dome (原爆ドーム) or A-Bomb dome, the ruins of the former Industrial Promotion Hall a mere 150 metres away from the hypocenter. This building is part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 1996.
Every single visitor is encouraged to ring this bell for world peace. Actually, you can hear its sound throughout the Memorial Park.
The Memorial Cenotaph (原爆死没者慰霊碑) in the center of the park attracts thousands of visitors every year. The monument you can see on this picture only covers the actual centotaph, which holds the names of all people killed by the bomb. The epitaph in front of it reads: "Repose ye in Peace, for the error shall not be repeated." (「安らかに眠って下さい 過ちは 繰返しませぬから」). I stood right in front of it when I took the picture. As you can see, it forms a perfect line with the A-Bomb Dome and the Peace Flame.
広島平和記念資料館 - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
No pictures this time, because no pictures can capture what is in there. Neither can words, so I'll just leave it with the comment that apparently Hiroshima has put (and still does) a lot of effort into coping with its past.
宮島 - Miyajima
Still coping with various impressions we got on a ferry for Miyajima (宮島), an island in the Seto Inland Sea (瀬戸内海). Actually the official name of the island is Itsukushima (厳島), but it's more popularly known as Miyajima, the "Shrine Island", for its famous shrine about which I'll write later. The island is also on of the "Three Views of Japan" (日本三景) - three landscapes that are considered the most beautiful throughout Japan.
What really -positively- surprised me was the cleansing serenity there: No convenience stores, not even traffic signs. After all, this island was considered sacred. Thus, neither births nor deaths were allowed on the island, as both are considered "dirty" in Shinto belief.
Still on the ferry, we could see the breathtaking scenery of the slowly setting sun on the numerous oyster farms in the Seto Inland Sea.
The island is also famous for its hundreds of tame deers, wich are protected as divine messengers of Itsukushima Shrine.
We spent the night at Kinsuikan (錦水館) an expensive looking Japanese style resort close to the shrine. This was our room.
High class Japanese luxury X3 Even more impressive than the rooms were the meals: 13 courses and more @.@
For it was still early we went to explore the quiet island. On the picture above you can the beautiful gate in front of the shrine. You can find these in front of every shrine, but this one is exeptionally big and thus called "big gate" (大鳥居). Use the people on that picture as a scale in order to imagine its size - it's huge! Another special feauture of this gate (and the whole shrine): It is built in the water, so while you can easily walk through it when the tide is low, the whole construction seems to be floating on the water during high tide. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see it during high tide ;A;
Back at the inn, we put on yukata (light cotton kimonos) and spent some time at the bar, when one of the nice Japanese staff members asked if she should take a picture of us. ...I didn't realise everyone striking poses, which is why I'm the only one looking normal on that photo (and sticking out by doing so >.<). From left to right: Me, Jana, Matthias, Candy and Robert. Please excuse the blurriness, and please nevermind the socks and slippers...
After I took a refreshing bath in the Onsen (温泉 - hot spring ... my first time actually) I went out to take some more photos of the Ootorii. I really like how this shot came out. You can even see the crescent moon.
厳島神社 - Itsukushima Shrine
The next morning we got up early, ate our (Japanese style) breakfast and visited the shrine and some other sites on the island.
Itsukushima Shrine, too, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I was actually standing under the Ootorii when I took this picture. It's not easy to get a shot of the whole shrine construction and I still don't really like this picture, it doesn't do justice to the beauty there. (ToT)
This bridge was closed for trespassing but apparently it was actually being used once. How on earth is anyone supposed to be able to cross this bridge if not crawling on all fours??
This nearly 30m high pagoda was build in 5-story style (五重塔) and could even be seen from the ferry.
This hall, Senjokaku (千畳閣) was built in 1578, but never completed due to the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi under which it was started.
It is nevertheless a breathtaking appeareance because of its huge size. The name Senjokaku describes it: One thousand tatami mats (about 1 300 m²). In 1872, the hall was renamed to Hokoku Shrine (豊国神社) and dedicated to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
京都 - Kyoto
After all souvenir shopping was done, we got on the ferry again an left Miyajima for our next destination: *drum roll* Kyoto!
Every one I know who has visited the old imperial city used the most colourful superlatives to describe it. Now I know they weren't exaggerating. Kyoto is of magnificent beauty. Not only beause it is home to many old houses, shrines and temples, but also as a modern city. Everytime I find myself in the crowded streets of Tokyo, literally wedged between skyscrapers, I yearn for Kyoto, where all building are of considerable height so you can actually see the horizon (which is simply impossible on the streets of Tokyo). The reason is simple: In Kyoto there's a regulation that forbids to building that exceed a certain height, so they won't draw the attention from Kyoto's historical sites. Of course, since it it only a regulation and no law, recently the number of scyscraping hotels is increasing. The same regulation also forbids too strong colors, so some labels of certain chain stores or brands look different in Kyoto. But that, too, is often turned a blind eye to. Quit that, stupid, attention seeking, greedy people!
Apart from that I was absolutely thankful for how the city is arranged: The road network looks like a chess board and most of the streets have names, so it's easy to figure out your position in case your lost. ... Yes... I managed to get lost on our second night in Kyoto. I was looking for a decent newspaper shop and somehow ended up far west and had to walk all the way back to our inn, which was in the east district.
二条城 - Nijo Castle
Our first stop in Kyoto was Nijo Castle (二条城). It was build in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu. It consists of two palaces, Honmaru and Ninomaru Palace (本丸、二の丸御殿), and wide gardens.
On the picture above you can see the richly adorned main gates to Ninomaru palace (二の丸御殿), one of the two main buildings.
Ninomaru palace. The most striking feature of Nijo Castle are the "nightingale floors" in the corridors: When you walk along the corridors the floor squeaks like birds. This invention was done in order to protect the occupants of the palace from attacks by assassins - they could easily hear them coming. The assassins, on the other hand wouldn't notice that they were heard because they'd think it were the birds outside making noises. Clever huh? And the construction still works.
平安神宮 - Heian Jingu
Our next stop: Heian Jingu. I was kind of surprised that this shinto shrine is actually fairly new: It was built 1895.
The main building of the shrine, Shaden (社殿). It was designed to imitate the Kyoto Imperial Palace. As you can propably see, I took several pictures in a row and stitched them together afterwards. Hence the strange "seam" in the middle of the picture. I didn't manage to adjust the colours properly...
The torii in front of Heian Jingu is not as big as the one in Miyajima, but still one of the biggest in Japan. On top of that it's a perfect example of how peacefully traditional sites and modern facilities coexist in Kyoto.
On the shrine grounds there was also a beautiful garden. On the picture above you can see Taiheikaku (泰平閣), a bridge-like construction in the eastern gardens.
After that exhausting 2nd day of our trip, we (finally?) got to our inn in Kyoto: Kamokawakan (加茂川館). Not as pretty as the inn on Miyajima (hence no pictures), but with nice staffing and yummy food.
金閣寺 - The Golden Pavilion
The Golden Pavilion is without question one the most widely known temple in Japan. You could even feel that on the temple grounds. You could literally feel and see it. I personally don't consider the temple that pretty, but what really cracked me up were the tourists and all the merchandising. It was damn hard to get a picture of anything without having some middle-aged Korean or Chinese woman on it and the souvenir shop at the exit was stuffed with cheap (and cheap looking) plastic miniatures of the temple - made in China.
The Golden Pavilion next to the "Mirror Pond" (鏡湖池 - Kyokochi). Maybe the Pavilion would've been perttier if it hadn't been for the rainy weather that morning...
Do you remember omikuji? I wrote about these small strips of paper with random fortunes written on it. Usually the people at the temple/shrine sell it, or you can get it yourself out of a small wooden box. But NEVER, NEVER have I seen huge, disturbing red machines selling them in four languages. Aaaaaarggh! That' s what I meant with stupid tourist service.
龍安寺 - Ryoanji
This Zen temple is widely known for its stone garden. Another UNESCO World Heritage site. It was quite some contrast to the Golden Pavilion: Nearly no tourists and an atmosphere of pure tranquility.
The famous dry garden. There are 15 rocks in this garden, but no matter from which angle you look at it (except from above), you'll only see 14 of them. It is said, that you'll be able to see the 15th rock only through enlightment.
嵐山 - Arashiyama
Arashiyama refers to both a mountan and a district in the western part of Kyoto. We went there for lunch and to buy some souvenirs. As for we could decide on our own how to spent the 2 hours there, I went for a walk to enjoy the beautiful scenery. The weather had finally cleared up and the sunlight was absolutely mood lifting.
One of the popular sites at Arashiyama: The bamboo grove (竹林).
三十三間堂 - Sanjusangendo
No pictures again. It is forbidden to take pictures inside of this temple. But even if it were allowed, I propably wouldn't have taken any, because it just wouldn't feel right. In the main hall there are 1001 (!!) Kannon statues, and none of them looks like the other, they all differ in tiny details, e.g. the height, shape of the eyes, etc. Absolutely breathtaking piece of Japanese art.
清水寺 - Kiyomizu Temple
The day ended as it had begun: With loads of tourists and souvenir shops. This time I successfully ignored the American tourists buying "I Love Japan" T-shirts.
The Kiyomizu temples are located east of Kyoto and an outstanding example of Japanese architecture. And yes, you might have already guessed it: Yet another UNESCO World Heritage site.
On January 1, 2006, Kiyomizu Temple was included on the list of candidates for the New Seven Wonders of the World. Thus, you could see banners reading "Vote for Kiyomizu!" everywhere ... Well, it certainly is an astounding building. You'll see why.
The entrance.
Kyoto as seen from Kiyomizu Temple. You can even see Kyoto Tower X3
Here you can see the most intersting part: The temple is actually build on a 13m high wooden pillar construction. This stage-like construction even made into a Japanese proverb: "To jump off the stage at Kiyomizu." (「清水の舞台から飛び降りる」) describes the act of doing something that is highly unlikely to succeed. The English equivalent would propably be "to take the plunge". It is said that if you survived jumping off that stage a wish would be granted. Actually, quite a lot of people tried. And thanks to the trees and bushes below the stage over 80% of them survived.
おまけ - Special
Out of context - just for fun: me wearing the inn's yukata on the second night, after taking a relaxing bath. I edited the background, because the walls in our room were kind of ugly... You can tell, that I'm way to tall for Japanese standards XD
哲学の道 - Philosopher's Walk
Our last day had come. Half a day free time. Actually it was kind of hard to decide, where to go, there were quite a lot sites left that we wanted to see, but we had neither enough money nor time to visit them all. In the end, we (the German students that is, by the way) decided to follow the Philospher's Walk up to the Silver Pavilion.
The Philosopher's Walk is a narrow street, sometimes a mere footpath in the north-eastern part of Kyoto. Following this walk you pass numerous temples, shrines and beautiful traditional houses.
Nearly no tourists, just the sound of the small stream.
銀閣寺 - The Silver Pavilion
Walking along the Philosopher's Walk we noticed that the number of tourists was increasing: The Pavilion was near. It wasn't as crowded as the Golden Pavilion, though. The Silver Pavilion was built almost 100 years later than the Golden Pavilion and actually meant to emulate it.
The Pavilion. You might wonder why it is called Silver Pavilion. It was intended to cover it with silver, but construction work was halted due to the Onin war.
After that, we went back to Kyoto Main Station where both my knee and my ego where deeply hurt when I fell running to the platform and set off back to Tokai University. ;.;
Absurdities in daily life Japan
Found at our inn on Miyajima:
A ... er... an automatic umbrella bagging machine. I've seen this in Shinjuku once, but this time I finally was able to take a picture. You stick your umbrella into it and the machine will cover it with a plastic bag. Convenient, maybe, because this way you don't wet stuff inside the store/hotel or yourself, but then again it's just another garbage producing device in Japan - the land of double wrappings and one-way packaging... Japanese sure have a strange relationship to their umbrellas.
Yo. I'm done. Finally. Off to bed now. *snooooore*
PS: (writing while sleeping??) Just so you know: My fangirliness has reached a new level: When I read the news on Jin's return I caught myself dancing merrily in our room at 9 a.m.