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Published: September 24th 2006
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Fun with fish
Koi at Konchi-in Lonely Planet, you can bite me. I'm sick of your useless maps and incorrect information (as well as your useless information and incorrect maps). I've always been more of a Rough Guide kind of gal, and the last three days have certainly shown me why.
On a more positive note, when I called into work on Thursday I was informed that I would be subbing for a teacher in Kyoto. Now considering that I have Fridays and Sundays off and this Saturday was a holiday, I took it as a sign. So I crammed some extra clothes and a towel into my backpack and headed for the train station. I attempted to book a hostel before I got to work, while I was at work, and after I got off, but everything was booked. Luckily I have made friends with a couple teachers in the Kyoto area though, so my new friend Doug took pity on me and put me up for the night. Cheers bud!
I started early the next day, first locating a ryokan (Japanese-style inn) for the next two nights, and then making my way to the Higashiyama area of Kyoto. The first place I
came to was Konchi-in, a temple founded in 1400 by the Shogun Yoshimochi Ashikaga. The temple itself was under a bit of repair, but I had a great time wandering around the gardens and taking pictures of the koi (see pics).
Down the road from Konchi-in is Nanzen-ji, the head temple of the Rinzaishu-Nanzenji school, one of the Zen sects. Originally it was built as a villa in 1264 by Emperor Kameyama, but when the emperor became a monk he decided to donate it. The original buildings were destroyed three times by fire- the current ones date to the late 1500's. There are 13 sub-temples on the same grounds and even an aquaduct (Suirokaku). I followed a path into the woods that led me to a shrine by the side of a cliff, next to a waterfall. I swear I'm not making this up!
After spending a couple hours exploring Nanzen-ji and the surrounding area, I continued down the same road until I came to another temple- Eikando Zenrin-ji. Around 853 AD, a priest built a training hall on the present day site of this temple. Later in the same period, a priest known as "Eikan" took over
Scary looking little guy
Roof adornment on the way to Nanzen-ji and greatly expanded the temple.
Shortly after I arrived, a group of older Japanese ladies sort of adopted me. They couldn't really speak English, but helped show me around as best they could. I even got to take part in a brief tea ceremony! One of the ladies admitted to me that she can't sit through the real thing- her legs go numb from kneeling for that long. At least, that's what I think she was trying to say...
A brief climb takes you up to a two-story pagoda on the hillside and allows you to get a nice view of the Kyoto skyline. Unfortunately there were also some Russian backpackers at the top who thought it might be fun to spit on the people walking up. I wasn't hit though!
After saying good-bye to the ladies, I left Eikando in search of something called Tetsu-gaku-no-michi, or "The Philosopher's Path". It's a small walkway that runs along a canal and passes by several different shrines. It also happens to pass by a cute antique kimono shop. I couldn't help myself! The interior of the shop was covered in photographs (some quite old) of all the people who
Cool walkway
One of the buildings at Nanzen-ji have bought kimonos there. The owner, a woman of about 70, was more than helpful.. she started pulling things off the shelf to show me and even try on. I only spent about USD$35 and came away with a beautiful fan (with cover) and a haori- a mid-length coat that's meant to be worn over a kimono. She insisted on taking a picture of me in front of her shop, though I was apparently wearing a samurai coat...
Anywho, after the shop I stumbled across the Otoyo shrine. This shrine was a little different from the other ones I'd seen so far- there were statues of mice, monkeys, cats, and other such creatures. Apparently it's supposed to guard the people of that area.
By that point in time I was a little templed-out, plus it was starting to get dark. So for a change of pace I decided to hit the best place in Kyoto for nighttime fun- Gion! I walked all around the area, somewhat hoping for a little taste of
Memoirs of a Geisha but instead mostly found a lot of bright lights and sketchy clubs. At one point I ran into a senior citizen
tour group from the States who thought I was the cutest thing ever.
*I swear, like moths to a flame... I don't know why they keep finding me! I'm just teasing though- it's always nice to have people tell you that you're pretty, courageous, and doing exactly what you should be doing (traveling that is, not wandering the alleys of Gion by myself).*
Good thing I made friends though, as their tour guide knew that a maiko (apprentice geisha) was to make her debut that evening and took us (they invited me along) to her agent's house. Apparently there aren't really geisha houses anymore. Geisha live outside of Gion and just head to their agent's house to get dressed for the evening. So after about 15 minutes of small talk, the maiko appeared. I'm sure she was pretty shocked to walk out to 15 or so foreigners snapping pictures of her, but she was very polite and even paused for a second to let us all get a nice shot of her.
That was about all the excitement I could handle for one day, so I promptly headed back to my ryokan and passed out.
And
I told you I was telling the truth
The waterfall is to the right- I couldn't get them all in the same picture. speaking of that, I need to get some sleep (it's 2:15AM here). The next two blogs will have to wait until at least tomorrow.
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Theresa
non-member comment
How Great
Alyssa, I think you are so brave. I'm jealous of all that you are getting to see. Just kidding. I would be scared to do that by myself. I LOVE ALL YOUR PHOTOS. Take care. I'm getting ready to call your mom. Ove, Theresa