Phil-San (Is Trying To Be) In Japan

Before we left, I mentioned that snow was predicted while we would be in Kyoto, but this was scoffed at. So, with an optimistic outlook, some Shinkansen and hotel tickets, my broken Japanese, guide books, and stereotypes of Geisha shuffling down narrow roads, we headed to Shin-Yokohama station.

The bullet train was, as usual, clean and efficient. Two hours on, we arrived at the recently finished new Kyoto station and rode the metro to the hotel; the only time to actually use this transport. The old capital is served by a comprehensive bus system, which has a cheap day pass to use between the main sights. Kyoto is a strange layout - very gridlike in the centre, but towards the outskirts - the boundary is naturally created by mountains, making for a very humid summer - it is a bit more scatty. This is where 90% of the attractions are found; the main exception logically being Nijo castle.

After dumping our bags at the hotel - much posher than I was expecting - we took the bus through Gion (the geisha area) to our first temple, Sanjusangendo. Built in 1164, this was - maybe unfortunately because nothing else was as impressive for me - the best thing I saw in Kyoto, and would recommend it as a must-see for any tourist. The area is quite plain inside the temple walls with a large wooden elongated building in the centre. Inside, no photos were allowed, so the following are internet 'borrowed'.

Sanjusangendo translates as a hall divided into 33 sections, a sacred number signifying that Buddha saves mankind by disguising himself in 33 different forms. In total 1,001 statues of Kannon, a Buddhist deity, line the 33 sections. 1000 of these are small versions of Sahasrabhuja-arya-avalokiteśvara - the Thousand-armed Kannon - each at 5 1/2 feet tall, carved out of wood and leafed in gold. In the center, the principal image of Kannon is 11 feet tall. And in the front, are 28 figures of guardians to the Kannon. Each statue is unbelievably detailed, beautiful and individual; it is believed by the Japanese that because each is unique, you can always find one that looks like you.

I think it was incredible not just because of the pain and effort taken to make this number of statues, but that they went on and on down this building was pretty breath-taking; just when you thought you'd seen them all you arrived at the middle where the large Kannon stood. The best moment is when we walked into the hall, read the information sign and turned the corner to be knocked back by the sheer number of them. Everyone experienced it, and it was pretty funny to watch people's expressions. I'm not doing it any justice, but I can't stress how strongly this place should be regarded.

Still, a lot more to be seen so we walked towards one of Kyoto's two most famous places and one of the "official candidates for the new 7 Wonders of the World". The route we took was beautiful; up a cobbled slope through a small cemetery, which opened up and spread out across the entire hillside.

In the distance, Kiyomizu-dera (Kiyomizu temple) stood overlooking the city. The main temple is constructed on large pillars, which juts out over the cliff and offers views of the city and beyond.

The temple's name - pure water - refers to the stream that runs down from the mountains and supposedly possesses healing powers; 3 channels converge respectively relating to health, longevity and intellectual success.

The following is plagiarised from Wikipedia because it's pretty interesting:

The expression "to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu" (「清水の舞台から飛び降りる」) is the Japanese equivalent of the English expression "to take the plunge". This refers to an Edo period tradition that held that, if one were to survive jumping from the stage, one's wish would be granted. Survival appears plausible: the lush vegetation below the platform might cushion the fall of a lucky pilgrim, though the practice is now prohibited. 234 jumps were recorded in the Edo period and, of those, 85.4% survived. The fall is 13 metres, which remains impressive for a wooden construction.

As you can expect, the place was full to the brim of sightseers, but it didn't detract from the impressive architecture.

We took the literal tourist track through the winding roads lined with souvenir shops, stopping for some choux cream pastries. The weather was kind to us; no sign of snow. What a ridiculous concept for mid-March.

This took us past some more temples along the East side of the city; Kyoto has, without exaggeration, thousands of temples and shrines of all sizes; much like in Rome where every corner turned is something else to gaze at.

We ended the trail at Heian Shrine - a massive gate leading to a prominent red structure with a courtyard which you can imagine being an important meeting point for politics and trade before Emperor Meiji took the attention to Tokyo.

That night, we had a drink at the hotel bar before heading out to explore the nightlife. We were the only guests in the bar at that time which lead to a creepy waiter who might as well have been sitting with us considering how close he was standing. At one point, Mum's scarf slipped a little off the chair and he dived down to pick it up. A little uncomfortable so we soon left. We made the unfortunate mistake of taking the bus a short way to Gion; the traffic meant that we could have walked in a third of the time, but we had the free pass so why not use it? The area near the river was extremely narrow, with a few geiko (modern-day geisha) hurrying to work; if you've seen or read Memoirs of a Geisha, it is a very faithful translation of the real thing. We ended up in not the best of restaurants, but we were handed a souvenir on the way out; a chunk of rice wrapped in foil each. Umm, great.

The room was a little on the baking-hot side, and with seemingly no ability to control the air-con, I called down to reception at around 3am. Apparently, the rooms are all supplied by a central computer that determines the temperature. The receptionist unlocked the large window and reassuringly informed us not to go outside. Always useful advice on the 8th floor.

The room didn't get much cooler, but instead we had the extra present of the, I'm guessing, annual motorbike convention on the road outside. Noisy and hot; a winning combination. At least the weather was good.

The next morning, we opened the curtains. It was snowing.

to be continued...