Konnichiwa from Kyoto

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Hello everyone!!!!! We are sorry that we have not been able to keep up with our blog, but it is hard to use computers sometimes in the accomodations that we are staying at. Things here are great!!! The weather is very hot, however they are not hot in comparison to the rest of the countries we are going to........damn. Well here is what is going on....
We went to many temples here in Kyoto. It is one of the spiritual capitals of the country, meaning it has over 2000 shrines and temples in the area. We have been to many, mostly those that are recomended by travel books. It is amazing seeing temples that have stood for over 700 years. What is so impressive is the size and construction methods. Many of these temples have survived countless earthquakes, typhoons, and countless drops of rainfall for hundreds of years, and they still stand strong. Yet, an engineered bridge will fall during an earthquake. How could they construct such things and survive the test of time?? The only achillies heal of Japan is fire. Temples are constructed of wood, and most houses are built almost touching each other, thus they would make the best bonfire in the world!!
Kyoto has some of the most impressive temples in all of Japan. We have been to the Golden Pavillion, which was a temple built by a Fuedal lord in the .......century. The entire temple is covered in gold leaf. The temple is built on an amazing traditional Japanese garden, with grounds that are incredibly well maintained. It was fantastic!!!!!
We also went to a bamboo grove, which was a mystic forrest with a path running through it. It is hundreds of years old, and it is intertwined with grave yards and and shrines etc.
We went to an amazing shrine called Fushimi-inari Taisha that had hundreds of wooden gates leading up a mountain. It was amazing, however, it gets dark here around 6:00 pm.
My favorite temple in Kyoto has a very famous zen rock garden. This temple is amazing. The surrounding grounds are very beautiful. The rockgarden has no meaing, only what the person looking at the garden interperets the meaning. It is said that the longer you gaze at the garden, the more it reveals itself to the person gazing, and lets their imagination wander.
Kyoto was topped offf with a trek up to Monkey mountain. This trip was amazing!!!! Only 500 yen to get up there, plus a demanding hike, but it is well worth the effort. When you reach the summit, you are met by dozens of wild macaques (monkeys) running around. They are not afraid of humans, so they hang out, playing and checking you out, waiting for some nuts or fruit that you can buy. There is some really new baby monkeys up there aswell, and they are so cute. Really an amazing experience. Also, the view from the top is also amazing, allowing a panoramic vista view of Kyoto city.
Kyoto has so many temples and shrines, that it is tough to talk about them all. Infact, we stumbled on so many that it is hard to even know what we have seen. On that note, Kyoto is very powerful and moving place, that is a mixture of modern city, with a timeless, spiritual past that can only be understood if you are here in person. Hopefully our pictures captured only a glimpse of its beauty.

Sayonara,

Trevor & Erin

(PHOTOS TO FOLLOW SOON...this site is a pain in the butt to get them on)

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