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Published: October 26th 2014
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Hi all. First, if you read my first Japan post and there were no pics, I resolved the issue and have attached pics. No new ones but if there were none, there are now. Okay, on to the good stuff...
Kyoto is a very cool city. A wonderful blend of modern but still holds on to the history, a nice change of pace. It is one of those types of cities where you could wander for hours (and I have) and you stumble upon temple/shrine after temple/shrine. You walk a block and suddenly there is a little story about the structure you're standing in front of, simply wonderful from a historical perspective. There are skinny little streets everywhere that after dark, light lanterns and it takes on another level of charm. It's like I've stepped back in time and you can really feel the history.
I timed my arrival into Kyoto to coincide with the Jidai Matsuri, a festival which is a parade of over 2000 Japanese in costumes ranging in historical periods from 8th century to 19th century. While I was kind of expecting a bit like the Calgary Stampede, this was a bit more sedate. No hundreds
of horses, dozens maybe and a couple of oxen, no showbands but one flutist group but the upside, no street sweepers for the 'you-know-what'. The whole thing went for just about two hours and unfortunately it started to rain about halfway through, unfortunate since many of the costumes were likely silk. But true to form, the Japanese held with tradition and continued, it was cool to see.
The second day I just wandered around, went to some temples, walked along the 'Path of Philosophy' to more temples, ended up in Gion and luckily saw one Geisha in full kimono and white make-up. She jumped out of a taxi and went into a building. I also treated myself to a true Japanese meal, right down to the sitting on the floor and ordering warm sake - that stuff would take the paint off your house! My meal was wonderful, udon with veggies, but it could have been terrible because that sake went right to my head. No wonder they love it so much here, it's almost like moonshine, lol! But as they say, when in Rome, or Kyoto I guess...
Third day was spent outside Kyoto to a place
called Nara, short train ride. This place was the first permanent capital of Japan and houses many Unesco World Heritage Sites. Most are nestled inside this park area where over 1200 deer roam, tame deer just waiting for food. They sell these things called 'deer biscuits' and those deer aren't dumb, they just wait for a tourist to come and buy the biscuits and man, they are on you! I found out first hand... I had about six around me and while I was trying to feed one, the others are tugging at any article of clothing they can get their mouths on. Seriously, it cracked me up, I had one tugging at my t-shirt, another pulling on my pants pocket, one pushing me on the other hip, it was like having a four year old tugging at your skirt saying, 'mom mom mom mom mom mom...' Even funnier after I did it, I watched two unsuspecting Japanese ladies do the same thing and one deer was yanking on her scarf while the others were pulling on her coat, purse, whatever hung loose. The deer are considered National Treasures because here they're considered messengers of the gods. For those Alberta
Ginkaku-ji Temple
The sand was meticulous, said to be symbolic of a mountain and lake. hunters reading right now, you'd have been salivating...
On to the rest of Nara. I went to Todai-ji which houses... yes, Daibutsu, Great Buddha. The ticket that I received says the temple hall that houses Daibutsu is the largest wooden building in the world and I'd think that's pretty accurate. Apparently the structure has been re-built twice, most recently in 1709, but it's two-thirds the original size, couldn't imagine it bigger. Additionally the Great Buddha inside is also one of the largest bronze figures in the world and was originally cast in 746. The current statue is around 15m high and consists of 437 tonnes of bronze and 130kgs of gold leaf (Lonely Planet...) The funniest part is there is a pillar inside the hall that has a 50cm hole at the base. The belief is those who can squeeze through the hole, which is the same size as Buddha's nostril, are ensured enlightenment. There was a huge line up to try, I didn't even bother... I could read the headline now, 'Large Canadian Girl Stuck in Nostril-Sized Hole,' no thanks. I did take a few pics of little school kids doing it though. I spent the rest of
the day in Nara temple gazing and watching people feed the deer and laughing at their shock.
The next day I went to a flea market, a HUGE flea market, spent hours wandering around. Some strange things people sell. I know first hand from five years of charity garage sales, one man's trash is another's treasure but there was some strange stuff. One table had dentures, lots of dentures. Another had bones and skulls. I was hoping that table was for biology study but I didn't stop too long at that one. Lots of old pictures, records, some really neat things. And after that, more temples... and the Bamboo Forest. That was pretty cool, bamboo trees all around and you walk a path through the forest. Would have been calm but there were about a thousand people doing the exact same thing so a little less peaceful than I'd hoped. Next time I'll see if I can use my clout to have the place to myself, haha...
My last few hours in Kyoto were spent trying to fit in two last temples before I was leaving for Osaka. I went to Kinkaku-ki, also known as the 'Golden Pavillion'
with gold foil covering the top two floors. I made a point of being there right as it opened as it's very busy at all times. Then squeezed in Nijo-jo, a castle built in 1603 as the official residence of the first shogun. One of the really cool parts are the floors, they're called 'nightingale' floors which squeak to alert people in residence that someone is coming in. With everyone walking around, they really do sound like sing-song. The floors in my house sound like a nightingale with a frog in its throat compared to these but it was interesting.
Then I was off to catch a train and here I am in Osaka. Heading to Hiroshima tomorrow, will update again. Hope everyone is well.
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