Kyoto
Took a cab from the hotel to Sanjusangen-dō to see the 1001 life sized figures of the Amida Buddha – each with 1000 arms holding symbolic treasures. Wish we could have captured what we’d seen but no photos allowed.
Walked on to Kiyomizu-dera – a complex of temples all painted in bright orange and decorated with sculpted animals and flowers. The centrepiece was the main temple, with its 13 metre high veranda jutting out over the edge of a hillside where we stood on the balcony overlooking the grounds, and listening to the Buddhist monks chant during their morning worship. Found a lovely spot to sit and watch the world go by and sat for ages trying to take the whole thing in, watching in awe as men and women in traditional dress worshipped at the shrines dotted around the grounds. Took some lovely pictures of a stunning heron perching on the edge of a pond that was clearly enjoying having its photo taken!
Walked along Gojo-zake, a street lined with pottery shops that give its local name of “teapot lane”, before reaching Sanmen-zake a narrow cobbled street lined with tiny shops and traditional wooden houses. Passed geisha being pulled along in rickshaws and having fun taking pictures of each other on their mobile phones. Stopped for lunch in a lovely restaurant off the main street and had another helping of tempura.
Walked onto Chion-in with the largest temple gate in Japan, a massive structure that still didn’t prepare you for the massive scale of the temple beyond. Spent time wandering around the grounds and listening to the monks chanting in the main temple – all very serene and incredibly peaceful. The sort of place to sit and contemplate.
Against our will we decided to move on to visit Hojo Gardens in the grounds of the Tofuku-ji temple, a traditional Buddhist zen garden that we had the pleasure of having all to ourselves.
Took a cab to the other side of town to have a look around the craft centre, but not really impressed by the tourist tat that was on offer.
Dinner was tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet). As the main meal was prepared we were served our own individual pestle and mortar, in which we learnt from watching the locals that we had to pound sesame seeds with a thick dressing to make our own sauce to eat with the pork. This was served with copious amounts of Chinese cabbage, rice and miso soup that was constantly replaced as soon as the last mouthful had been eaten. Absolutely delicious.
Walked on to Kiyomizu-dera – a complex of temples all painted in bright orange and decorated with sculpted animals and flowers. The centrepiece was the main temple, with its 13 metre high veranda jutting out over the edge of a hillside where we stood on the balcony overlooking the grounds, and listening to the Buddhist monks chant during their morning worship. Found a lovely spot to sit and watch the world go by and sat for ages trying to take the whole thing in, watching in awe as men and women in traditional dress worshipped at the shrines dotted around the grounds. Took some lovely pictures of a stunning heron perching on the edge of a pond that was clearly enjoying having its photo taken!
Walked along Gojo-zake, a street lined with pottery shops that give its local name of “teapot lane”, before reaching Sanmen-zake a narrow cobbled street lined with tiny shops and traditional wooden houses. Passed geisha being pulled along in rickshaws and having fun taking pictures of each other on their mobile phones. Stopped for lunch in a lovely restaurant off the main street and had another helping of tempura.
Walked onto Chion-in with the largest temple gate in Japan, a massive structure that still didn’t prepare you for the massive scale of the temple beyond. Spent time wandering around the grounds and listening to the monks chanting in the main temple – all very serene and incredibly peaceful. The sort of place to sit and contemplate.
Against our will we decided to move on to visit Hojo Gardens in the grounds of the Tofuku-ji temple, a traditional Buddhist zen garden that we had the pleasure of having all to ourselves.
Took a cab to the other side of town to have a look around the craft centre, but not really impressed by the tourist tat that was on offer.
Dinner was tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet). As the main meal was prepared we were served our own individual pestle and mortar, in which we learnt from watching the locals that we had to pound sesame seeds with a thick dressing to make our own sauce to eat with the pork. This was served with copious amounts of Chinese cabbage, rice and miso soup that was constantly replaced as soon as the last mouthful had been eaten. Absolutely delicious.
posted by Paul Marden at
1:49 PM
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