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Published: January 4th 2012
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We are back at the Village Kyoto Ryokan style hotel. We like this hotel so much we decided to stay here again when we decided to revisit Kyoto instead of going on to Osaka. The futon beds are super comfortable and the onsen bath is a very nice place to relax after being out in the cold all day.
Today we took the trains to Byodo-in. This is a Buddhist temple built in 1053 AD. The hall was properly known as Hoo-do or Amida-do, a representation of the Pure Land of heaven guarded by a twin pair of birds, the phoenix. The pair of phoenix guardian birds are considered a national treasure and were taken off the building proper to protect them from the elements and are housed in the small museum on the temple grounds. The original hall is one of the few structures surviving much sectarian violence thoughout the eras. It housed 52 bodhisattavas which were carved by the priest Jocho in the 11th centrury. These are small wooden statuettes about 18 inches tall that lined the inner temple. They are also protected in the museum. All in all, it is an impressive collection from nearly 1000 years
Cool train station
Thomas the Tank Engine lives here. This was a very cool station in Ugi, goes along with the very cool bridge and temple. ago. The phoenix hall is on the 10 yen coin. It makes me wonder about soceities and advancement of culture as these halls were constructed out of wood when the Anasazi of Mesa Verde in Colorado were living in rock adobe houses in cliffs in southwestern Colorado. Portions of the "Tale of Gengi" are also portrayed in art from the river bridge which also is the oldest bridge in Japan.
We left the Uji area and headed back by train to the Kyoto area near the river Kamo-gawa. We shopped a little but looked for a lunch spot advertised in a local brochure, Tomkasu Kastsukara Kyoto Sanjo. It was hard to find in a little alleyway heading back to a back building, but well worth the hunt. They served rolls made of soy milk skin croquettes, tempura pork and beef cutlets, and tempura shrimp with very tasty miso soup and sauces. They gave you various sauces and you used a mortar and pestle to grind toasted sesame seeds with the mixture to dip your cutlets into. Umai - Japanese for delicious.
We went back out and it started to snow which turned to rain. We went to a
department store called Loft that has all kinds of everything except furniture and tools. We looked at stationary, toys, small appliances for making takoyaki (octopus balls from Osaka) and were amazed that Japanese kids TV action figures from UltraMan were selling for about $75.00 each.
We wandered back to the subway and Greg wanted to eat Kobe beef. We finally found our restaurant!! A Kobe beef steak dinner was, drum roll please, $230.00 a plate!!! So guess who won't be having Kobe beef in Japan?
We bought a few things for dinner at 7 Eleven, including green tea matcha ice cream bars, that Kristy cannot get enough of, and ate dinner and went the onsen, spa. Greg has decided the onsen is ok after we had to explain the first time we visited here that the men and women don't all go in naked together. The women and men have their own baths seperated from each other!
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