Kyoto, Day Four
Or, This Is Why You Bring A Towel
Oh, by the way, up until this point I haven't had a shower or bath or whatever because I couldn't find said facility in the hostel because I'm a total doof. Felt really good to get clean for once. Japan has this thing about communal baths which can be kind of confusing for a new comer. I think there's some kind of ritualized procedure I was supposed to follow regarding the order of things I was supposed to do to get clean, since everyone else was doing them just about in sync with each other, but maybe I'm reading too much into that.
So I get up, get clean, and get out, and start heading out to Kiyomizu shrine, which my one Japanese roommate had told me was supposed to be really nice, and also within striking distance of the hostel and more or less on the way back to the train station, via a kind of roudabout route.
Said route runs through a slightly less affluent neighborhood of Kyoto, but even then there are historical-looking shrines and temples in good repair. This is Yasaka shrine's temple-pagoda thing.
And then I found the steep hill upon which Kiyomizu is built.
I had to take a stop at the top next to this bell because the extra thirty pounds of computer and bag in a decidedly unergonomic arrangement can be a rain pain.
Kiyomizu is apparently on the list for a new 7 Wonders of the World, some weird thing on the internet that people can vote on. No doubt like all other attempts at internet democracy it'll get ruined by idiots, with some weird list of 'wonders' with no standard of quality, but I digress.
Inside, there is, of course, a buddha.
This particular buddha is indoors, so it's not cloaked in a jacket or whatever. All the little buddhas outside were wearing little knitted hats and jackets, to keep them warm. Unfortunately that picture got a little blurred out because I seriously suck at photography.
Anyway, there are a few different sub-shrines in the complex, including this:
It's a love rock. Or one of them, you can see the other in the back. Presumably if you can walk from one to the other, unassisted and with your eyes closed, you'll fall in love within the near future and live happily ever after.
No, I didn't try.
At first, it's kind of hard to figure out why Kiyomizu is interesting enough to qualify as a wonder of the world, because it's not obvious at first. Oh boy, another clifftop shrine, yawn.
And then you realize the whole thing is stilted up on this rather complex support structure to make room for it at the top of the cliff. I'm guessing that's why they stripped all the trees off the hillside, but it kind of looks like it might collapse at any given time.
Near the train station there's a huge temple, Nishi Hongaji.
Since it's still in use, I snuck in and had a look around, and they were having a service, or whatever the accurate term is. Buddhist monks chanting sutras, in all rather peaceful, although it didn't seem to be particularly organized in any way. People came in, said their prayers, and then left quietly. Presumably I'd be better equipped to tell you more if I knew anything about it.
Anyway, so I get on the train for Nara, and whoo. It's raining like all get out.
I asked at the station for directions to the two hostels in the tourist guide I picked up at the airport, and as it turns out they were both closed for various reasons. The woman at the counter was really nice and actually made a five minute reservation for me in a very reasonably priced hotel. Check-in was at three, so I had to wander around in the rain for a bit, and spent some time hanging out with some of the deer in a very wet park.
Lunch: Fish Soba
Which was pretty good, basically a nice piece of grilled mackerel served in broth with some thin, slightly chewy noodles.
After all this sitting out in the rain I was pretty soaked, and the weather was only getting worse, so I went back to the hotel to dry out for a bit and leech internet. The rain never really let up at any point and it was dark, but I managed to sneak out for more food.
Dinner: Curry Hamburger Doria
It seems Doria was pretty popular, as some kind of fusion western food. It's a pretty heavy dish with a lot of cheese, but tasty nevertheless.
A pretty short day, considering how much it rained.
Oh, by the way, up until this point I haven't had a shower or bath or whatever because I couldn't find said facility in the hostel because I'm a total doof. Felt really good to get clean for once. Japan has this thing about communal baths which can be kind of confusing for a new comer. I think there's some kind of ritualized procedure I was supposed to follow regarding the order of things I was supposed to do to get clean, since everyone else was doing them just about in sync with each other, but maybe I'm reading too much into that.
So I get up, get clean, and get out, and start heading out to Kiyomizu shrine, which my one Japanese roommate had told me was supposed to be really nice, and also within striking distance of the hostel and more or less on the way back to the train station, via a kind of roudabout route.
Said route runs through a slightly less affluent neighborhood of Kyoto, but even then there are historical-looking shrines and temples in good repair. This is Yasaka shrine's temple-pagoda thing.
And then I found the steep hill upon which Kiyomizu is built.
I had to take a stop at the top next to this bell because the extra thirty pounds of computer and bag in a decidedly unergonomic arrangement can be a rain pain.
Kiyomizu is apparently on the list for a new 7 Wonders of the World, some weird thing on the internet that people can vote on. No doubt like all other attempts at internet democracy it'll get ruined by idiots, with some weird list of 'wonders' with no standard of quality, but I digress.
Inside, there is, of course, a buddha.
This particular buddha is indoors, so it's not cloaked in a jacket or whatever. All the little buddhas outside were wearing little knitted hats and jackets, to keep them warm. Unfortunately that picture got a little blurred out because I seriously suck at photography.
Anyway, there are a few different sub-shrines in the complex, including this:
It's a love rock. Or one of them, you can see the other in the back. Presumably if you can walk from one to the other, unassisted and with your eyes closed, you'll fall in love within the near future and live happily ever after.
No, I didn't try.
At first, it's kind of hard to figure out why Kiyomizu is interesting enough to qualify as a wonder of the world, because it's not obvious at first. Oh boy, another clifftop shrine, yawn.
And then you realize the whole thing is stilted up on this rather complex support structure to make room for it at the top of the cliff. I'm guessing that's why they stripped all the trees off the hillside, but it kind of looks like it might collapse at any given time.
Near the train station there's a huge temple, Nishi Hongaji.
Since it's still in use, I snuck in and had a look around, and they were having a service, or whatever the accurate term is. Buddhist monks chanting sutras, in all rather peaceful, although it didn't seem to be particularly organized in any way. People came in, said their prayers, and then left quietly. Presumably I'd be better equipped to tell you more if I knew anything about it.
Anyway, so I get on the train for Nara, and whoo. It's raining like all get out.
I asked at the station for directions to the two hostels in the tourist guide I picked up at the airport, and as it turns out they were both closed for various reasons. The woman at the counter was really nice and actually made a five minute reservation for me in a very reasonably priced hotel. Check-in was at three, so I had to wander around in the rain for a bit, and spent some time hanging out with some of the deer in a very wet park.
Lunch: Fish Soba
Which was pretty good, basically a nice piece of grilled mackerel served in broth with some thin, slightly chewy noodles.
After all this sitting out in the rain I was pretty soaked, and the weather was only getting worse, so I went back to the hotel to dry out for a bit and leech internet. The rain never really let up at any point and it was dark, but I managed to sneak out for more food.
Dinner: Curry Hamburger Doria
It seems Doria was pretty popular, as some kind of fusion western food. It's a pretty heavy dish with a lot of cheese, but tasty nevertheless.
A pretty short day, considering how much it rained.