Japan Day 9: Kyoto: Rainy Day with Temples
I woke up this morning to the sound of rain, and the sight of gray skies. This did not bode well for our planned walk through the old neighborhoods and temples of the renowned Higashiyama district that runs along the base of Kyoto’s eastern hills.
Accordingly, we had a very leisurely start to our morning. We were the only guests at the B&B, and Ian and Sybille both entertained us with lively stories of living and working in varied countries such as Nepal, India, and Kenya, as well as some of Ian’s experiences living in Japan for many years.
We packed up, settled our modest bill, and left our luggage in the genkan (foyer) of the old house, for pick-up in the late afternoon, when we finished our walking tour, and checked into our next hotel. It was still raining steadily as we left the B&B, and on Ian’s advice, we hopped into a taxi rather than taking the time-consuming trip across town on the bus.
He also gave us a recommended route and itinerary to see the highlights-there are dozens of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines in the part of Kyoto
Unfortunately, the taxi driver initially misunderstood our directions, and we ended up taking a scenic tour of downtown Kyoto before the misunderstanding was cleared up, and he dropped us off at the bottom of the hill leading up to the UNESCO World Heritage temple of Kiyomizu-dera.
Buddhists in Kyoto apparently attend Sunday morning services at their local temple, and on the walk up the hill, passing several smaller and newer temples, we saw a lot of families in their Sunday best, including a fair number of men and women in traditional kimono, the women with beautiful, brightly colored kimono and obi, and the men in somber colors with simple belts and wooden sandals.
The great religious complex of Kiyomizudera is one of the most famous sites in Japan, and its great shrine and pagoda are symbols of Kyoto, much as the Eiffel Tower represents Paris, or the Golden Gate Bridge is for San Francisco. It’s one of the must-see stops on any tour of Kyoto, and it’s accordingly crowded with masses of people. As we arrived, we joined several tour buses of Chinese tourists in lining up for a tour of the huge main hall, and as we left, we saw two or three middle school classes arriving on a field trip.
It was still raining pretty hard, so the temple grounds were a mass of umbrellas flowing up the huge stone staircase, and down the various paths to smaller shrines, the sacred springs, the temple tea-houses, and (of course) the temple gift stores.
I had visited Kiyomizu-dera on my previous trip to Japan four years ago, but I saw it on a sunny, late-autumn day when there were fewer people and also beautiful autumn foliage. The gorgeously-landscaped temple grounds are spectacular in any season, but this visit had had a completely feel to it when viewed against a backdrop of mist-shrouded hills and the gardens luminous with water droplets clinging to leaves and a smooth sheen of moisture polishing the granite stepping-stones and darkening the weathered wood of walls and railings.
The gloom of the day also created a very different atmosphere in the main hall. Monks at the entrance to the hall efficiently directed the long queues of tourists, issuing requests to remove shoes and handing out plastic bags to hold wet umbrellas and shoes.
Once down to our sock-feet, we walked around the perimeter of the great hall, our path marked with a red carpet, and circled the huge altar with its gilded, many-armed figures of Buddhist saints and protective deities. The high wood-beamed ceilings were shrouded in deep gloom, the air was smoky with fragrant incense, and our way was lighted by banks of votive candles burning before the statues.
From Kiyomizudera, we fought our way downhill along a narrow street lined with souvenir and sweet shops, battling masses of umbrella-wielding visitors headed uphill to visit the temple. A right turn down an alley with wide stairs brought us to the Sannen-zaka, a charming narrow lane lined with old wooden houses, mostly converted to tea houses, restaurants, and more sweet shops. We meandered slowly down the street, looking in store windows (and looking for a likely lunch spot).
After a simple lunch of teriyaki chicken over rice, served with a side of cold soba noodles in sauce, we continued on to the Maruyama Gardens, a public park with pretty ponds and paths (and lots of ice-cream stands and tea-stands).
By now, we were hopelessly behind the schedule on the itinerary that Ian had suggested, so we picked up the pace a bit, walking north through more old neighborhoods. We only visited one more temple, the Chion-in Temple, guarded by the largest temple gate in Japan. The buildings inside the grounds were equally massive in scale. There were fewer tourists here, and we had the chance to sit quietly in the back of the great hall, and watch as the monks conducted what looked like short blessing ceremonies at a side altar for various families and groups. The ceremony involved the family or group kneeling in front of an elaborate gilded altar, and the monk, also kneeling, facing them and and chanting prayers while striking a heavy metal bell-bowl at intervals, which filled the hall with a mellow ringing sound.
Chion-in is also famous for its gardens, which we toured. Artfully placed boulders, ponds, raked gravel, and manicured trees made it an extremely photogenic place, even in the rain.
It was getting late by this point, and we still wanted to do the Philosopher’s Walk, which is a very pretty path that runs alongside one of Kyoto’s canals, and is lined with cherry trees. It took us a while to walk over to the place where the walk begins, and dusk began to fall as we strode along for about a half-hour. Luckily, the rain had eased off after lunch, so we were able to furl our umbrellas.
The end of the Philosopher’s Walk brought us back to the B&B-it was only four blocks away and was a great place to conclude our six-and-a-half hour walking tour of eastern Kyoto. We gathered up our suitcases, turned in our keys, and caught a taxi downtown to the business hotel where we’ll be staying for the next three nights.
The Hotel Chatelet, though not nearly as charming as B&B Juno, is clean, inexpensive, and very conveniently located in downtown Kyoto about two blocks from Nijo Castle. There’s free coffee and tea in the room, a tiny molded-plastic bathroom that bears a strong resemblance to an airplane lavatory (but with a small deep Japanese bathtub), and-I find this hilarious-a TV that requires you to pay with a credit card to watch. (This is apparently pretty common in Japan, since our B&B in Nikko had a coin-operated TV set.)
There’s no wireless Internet access in the rooms, but there are a couple of computers in the lobby for use by guests, so I’ll try uploading my travel journal later on.
Footsore and rather weary, we rested for a half-hour or so, then ventured out in search of dinner. There doesn’t seem to be much variety around the hotel, but we did find a casual little udon-noodle fast food place just a couple of short blocks away.
You ordered what type and size of noodle bowl you wanted at the front counter, and once the cheerful young man handed you your bowl, you then slid your tray along a long counter, where you had the option to add on extra items for a dollar or two, ranging from tempura items to pickled vegetables to various flavors of onigiri (rice ball). The udon shop also had beer and Chu-hi (a mildly sweet alcoholic fruit soda).
It was simple but good (and inexpensive) fare, and we had the pleasure of watching a fascinating (heh) documentary about the making of traditional Japanese pickles on what appears to be the equivalent of the Food Network in Japan.
Nick and Lori and I parted ways after dinner. I returned to the hotel to write my travel journal and take a hot shower; they went to explore a bit.
Tomorrow, we’re planning on doing a garden tour, since Kyoto has many renowned and beautiful gardens. I hope the weather improves a bit.