Kyoto

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Arriving in Kyoto early afternoon, after a somewhat uncomfortable journey due to the long cycle the previous day, we finally found our hostel hidden amongst a row of market stalls in a covered arcade. Things didn't get off to a great start when we were handed a bill for 6 nights accommodation, our plan being to stay for three then move on to another hotel in Kyoto, followed by the discovery that our "private room" was surrounded on all sides by the reception, entrance way and front door, fish stall and the passage way through the market, with only paper thin walls, in some place not even meeting the ceiling, in between.

Fortunately, the lady on reception spoke really good English, so the former was resolved with no problems, and the latter only disturbed the potential for an afternoon nap (!) and we slept well throughout our stay.

In fact, it turned out to be one of the best places we have stayed so far, the hostel being a small traditional Japanese guest house with the most unbelievably helpful host who seemed to have more recommendations, maps and handwritten bus timetables every time we saw her.

We thought, having six days, we had given ourselves more than enough time to see Kyoto. Wrong! You could probably spend six months here and still not tick everything off. Kyoto has 17 World Heritage Sites, well over a thousand temples, and hundreds of shrines, not to mention the fact that its surrounded by two mountain ranges so the option to go hiking.

Deciding to get our bearings for the city before we hit the temples we headed to Kyoto Tower, located in the station area of the city, for a 360 degree view of the city. It felt like most of Kyoto, or Kyoto's school kids at least, decided to do so at the same time, so it was a fairly noisy and crowded affair at the top, but undoubtedly a great view.

From there we decided to explore the train station. Not your usual tourist attraction, but then at 15 stories of steel and glass, with an observation deck/garden, restaurants and shops, this isn't really your usual train station! The view isn't quite as good as from the tower, but unlike the tower, it's free and was much less crowded.

It's been impossible not to notice the days getting significantly hotter over the last week. In the knowledge that the mercury was going to top 36 degrees, we had an early start and was at our first temple, Nanzen-ji, for 6.30am, having been misinformed that it opened at 6am. It actually opens at 8.40am, but we were able to wander around some of the grounds, which we had to ourselves, marvel at the impressive gates, and could here the chanting of early-morning prayers from one of the sub temples which made for a very atmospheric early morning stroll.

As we made our way out of the temple complex we stumbled across the Konchi-in temple, which was just opening it's doors, so we took advantage of being the first visitors of the day and again had the place to ourselves. This small temple dates back to the 1400's, and while there is not much to see in the temple itself, it has a beautiful shakkei garden, meaning borrowed scenery, utilising the surrounding landscape in the design of the garden.

From there we made our way to the Chion-in temple, arriving there in time for its doors opening at 9am. This large complex, free to enter aside from the zen garden which costs 400yen, dates back to the 1200's and is the most popular pilgrimage temple in Kyoto. At present, the main temple in the complex is being renovated, so is hidden from view, but the surrounding smaller temples, particularly those reached by climbing the stone steps away from the main building, were worth a visit, and the chanting heard from the morning prayers drowned out the sound of hammering from the main temple! This complex also houses Japan's largest bell, an absolute behemoth weighing 70 tonnes.

After a escaping the blazing midday sun for a couple of hours and indulging in some air conditioning, we took the Tozai subway line to Nijo-jo-mai, arriving at Nijo Castle. This former shogun residence, and one of the 17 World Heritage Sites of Kyoto, is set in tranquil gardens and has been beautifully restored. As you walk along the corridors, the floorboards squeezing beneath your feet to betray an intruder, you can glimpse what life would have been like in the castle, as many of the rooms have reconstructed scenes and amazing screen paintings. We do wish we had purchased an audio guide however, as there was only English headings, no explanatory text for any of the rooms.

The following morning we took the JR San-in line to Saga Arashiyama, which can also be reached by bus, but we opted to use our JR passes instead. Arashiyama is located in west Kyoto, at the base of the mountain range, and is made famous by its bamboo grove, one of Japan's top attractions.

From the train station, we walked around 15 minutes to get to Tenryu-ji temple. The original temple, which was an important zen temple, has been destroyed and there isn't a huge amount to see at the present temple, which is relatively new being built in 1900. However, the zen garden in which the temple is housed, it's twisting paths meandering through ancient trees and shrubs, is a magical place to get lost for an hour, it's layout dating back some 700 years and bordering on the bamboo groves.

Taking the north exit from the temple, we made our way up the road, surrounded like a tall corridor by the towering bamboo.

We had fairly high expectations for the bamboo groves, described by the Lonely Planet as "being like entering another world" and ranking high on the list of experiences to be had in Japan. Maybe, having arrived to Arashiyama early, we should have gone straight there rather than going to the temple first. Either way, encountering no less than 3 school trips, 4 coach tours and countless taxis driving up through the bamboo grove (which is a road, not a path) to unload tourists at the top for a quick photo before driving off again, it felt decidedly "this world" and a bit of a disappointment. We chose a spot in the shade to wait for the crowds to disperse, but left after it just as busy about an hour later.

Following the road off to the left from the main junction at the Bamboo groves, a path takes you through a wooded area eventually leading down to the river, which was much quieter, so we had a stroll along the river bank and slowly made our way back to the by now bustling town towards the station to catch a train to Enmachi station.

From Enmachi we followed the main road north until reaching Kinkaku-ji, another World Heritage Site. Otherwise known as the Golden Pavillion, this was originally build as a retirement home in 1397 for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and converted to a temple after his death. The present building is a careful reconstruction of the original, which was destroyed by fire, and is a popular attraction as one of Japan's iconic buildings. It's not hard to see why- the temple glistens in the sunlight, and the path, which winds around the back of the temple then meanders up through the gardens,allows you to appreciate it from all angles, although you can't actually go in. Popular with tourists and school trips alike, we were inundated with questions from school children eager to learn English, wanting to know where we were from, what we liked about Japan and whether they could have a photo taken with us. This was often in exchange for a small gift- we are now amassing quite a collection of origami cranes and postcards!



Tomorrow we move to another hotel in Kyoto- we decided to do 3 days Japanese-style and 3 days western, although we are getting used to the futons now.



Until then,



S & J xxx

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