Yokoso! Japan Day 3 - Kyoto Part 2

Nanzenji Temple, Kiyomizu-Dera Temple and Gion District

We continued on our journey along the Philosophers' Path to our next destination -- Nanzenji Temple.

Along the way, we saw two teddy bears fishing! So kawaii!



We also saw many mandarin ducks in the river. They do kinda stick together in pairs. I'm guessing the more colourful one is the male (just like the peacock, who had beautiful feathers to win over the female)



Along the path:



Most of the path is shaded by trees, and thus make the walk more cooling under the hot weather.

Along the way, we were distracted/waylaid by interesting shops that sell nice traditional bags/pouches/wallets, ornaments etc. Even saw a shop selling all kinds of ornaments/accessories with kawaii cats on them!

It's difficult to remember how long we took before we reached the Nanzenji Temple, but i'd make a guess at half an hr or so.

We had to deviate slightly from the path to get to the Nanzenji Temple, passing by some seemingly residential units/shops:



Some weird plant growing out from a house:



Here we are:



Nanzenji (南禅寺) is a Zen temple at the foot of Kyoto's eastern hills. As head temple of the Rinzai sect's Nanzenji school of Zen Buddhism, it is one of Japan's most important Zen temples.

The temple grounds is free for access, but if you wish to enter the Zen garden in the Hojo, you have to pay a fee of 300 yen (~S$5).

Entrance to the main temple:



The main temple:



Women in traditional kimono, praying:



We also followed the example of the locals praying. The procedure is something like this: you toss a coin (minimum 10 yen) into this box, clap your hands twice, and put your hands together and say your prayer silently. Then you are done! We prayed qt alot while we were in Japan (later at Kiyomizu-Dera, and in Tokyo's Sensoji Temple and Meiji Shrine).

Kyoto was very green during the summer time. It was interesting to see red-leafed trees, kinda "refreshing" after looking at so much greenery:



Such flowers are qt commonly seen everywhere in Kyoto:



Some nice arc in the temple grounds:



Us being funny again, hahah.



Zen garden:







Very nice small waterfall in the zen garden.



We left the Nanzenji Temple to take a bus to Kiyomizu-Dera temple. Again, we kinda got lost at some point, but eventually we managed to find the correct bus stop, which was actually located right outside Heian Shrine. Heian Shrine was initially on our itinerary, but as it was already late afternoon and we didnt want to miss the opening hours of Kiyomizu-Dera, we decide to skip Heian Shrine.

The torii outside the Heian Shrine, one of the biggest in Japan.



A canal on two sides of the bridge:





There's a small hike uphill to get to the Kiyomizu-Dera temple, passing by many small shophouses selling all kinds of food, traditional crafts, and even Geisha makeover services!

A small pavilion outside Kiyomizu-Dera. The orange colour makes the place look more modern. Also, it is distinctly different from Chinese temples that are usually red in colour.





Entrance to Kiyomizu-Dera temple.



Kiyomizudera ("Pure Water Temple", 清水寺) is one of the most celebrated temples of Japan. It was founded in 780 and remains associated with the Hosso sect, one of the oldest sects within Japanese Buddhism. In 1994, the temple was added to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites. There is, in fact, a minature version of the Kiyomizudera in Tokyo, located in Ueno Park. But it is nothing compared to what we see here in Kyoto.









I must say this is one of the most spectacular temples/buildings i've seen in Japan. The bold use of colours and how the design/colour of the buildings harmonize with the surroundings of Mother Nature, makes it a very picturesque place and good spot for lotsa photo taking.


Some other shrines in the temple grounds:





Before praying, usually visitors should cleanse themselves using the water provided at such facility (kinda like cleansing their troubled souls before they pray). Here, this sign reads "Please do not drink from this water."




At the entrance to the wooden terrace and other shrines in the temple complex:





Thought this was quite a nice picture of me and zhenzhi at the entrance:




Some other nice photos we took, with the hill in the backdrop:






The temple is also famous for its wooden terrace, which allows visitors a good view of the surrounding area. The wooden terrace is actually built on a steep hill, making it a small miracle on its own. In fact, Kiyomizu-Dera temple was one of the 21finalists for the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007, tho it didnt actually clinch a place in the end.

View of the main hall from the wooden terrace:



There is an interesting story/fact behind the wooden terrace at the Kiyomizu-Dera temple:

There is an expression "to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu", which is the Japanese equivalent of the English expression "to take the plunge." This refers to an Edo period tradition that held that, if one were to survive jumping from the terrace, one's wish would be granted. This does appear plausible: the lush vegetation below the platform might cushion the 13-meter fall of a lucky pilgrim, though the practice is now prohibited. 234 jumps were recorded in the Edo period and of those, 85.4% survived. A pretty high percentage indeed.


Beneath the main hall is the Otowa-no-taki ("Sound of Feathers") waterfall, where three channels of water drop into a pond. Visitors to the temple collect water from the falls in metal cups and drink it for health, longetivity, and success in studies.


(Picture courtesy of sacred-destinations.com)


One can pay a small fee of 300 yen (~S$5) to buy a wooden charm like the one below, and write down your wishes. Mine roughly reads as "Safety at home", or generally, wish that all is well at home.




One can also buy one of these kinda wooden plaques, write down their wishes on it, and hang them:




Here, you can clearly see the coin box that you throw your coin in and pray:





The temple complex contains several other shrines, notably Jishu-jinja, decidated to Okuninushino-Mikoto, a god of love and "good matches." Near the shrine are two rocks placed several meters apart - successfully walking from one rock to the other with your eyes closed means that you will find love. You can be assisted in the crossing, but this is taken to mean that an intermediary will be needed.

We actually saw many teenagers at the Jishu-jinja, with some attempting the "love walk" admist giggles and jostling among themselves. It was qt funny to watch actually. Some even "guide" their friends by telling them to walk more to the left/right etc.







Seeing that none of us really needs help in "finding love", we didnt attempt the walk :P


We left Kiyomizu-Dera temple for some *serious* souvenir shopping before we made our way to the last destination of the day: Gion District.

Gion (祇園) District was originally developed to accomodate the needs of travellers to the Yasaka Shrine in the Middle Ages, but quickly developed into one of the most exclusive and well-known geisha districts in all of Japan. Many mistake geisha to be prostitutes, and Gion to be a former red-light district. Geishas are actually artisans, performers of the art in traditional Japanese music, dance and play. Even till today, you can still spot geishas, or 'geiko'/'maiko' (trainees) in Gion district. Gion has also preserved the traditional architecture and entertainment.

P.S. You could read a former geisha, Mineko Iwasaki's book "Geisha of Gion" for more accurate portrayal of geisha and their lives in the olden times (as compared to Arthur Golden and the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha", which may not be fully accurate).







We arrived at Gion district at about 630pm. Hoping to spot a glimpse of a geisha walking pass, we decide to wait for at least 30 min along the streets.

Just like us who hope to spot a geisha, there were many other tourists waiting in the area. It got rather *irritating* when this angmoh tourist started to take photos of Joey (and me, probably?), CLEARLY without asking for our permission. Also, the fact that we were not in the best of moods (feeling tired, yet waiting anxiously for a geisha to appear) makes the matter worse.

We got lucky tho, just when we were about to leave the area after 45 mins or so has passed. At the entrance to the area, we saw a geisha who walked very fast (probably to avoid stares and blinking camera flashes in her face) towards us!



Other than avoiding the tourists' stares, she was probably rushing for an appointment in one of the ochayas in the area. Even till today, qt a few geishas are still in business, providing entertainment at a rather IMO hefty price.

I've no idea whether the geisha that we've just seen is a full-fledged geisha (or 'geiko'), or a (trainee) 'maiko'. But she looks pretty young. I'm also amazed as to the speed at which she can walk, given the seemingly bulkiness of her attire and her wooden clogs. Having tried on a full set of the kimono and wooden clogs before at my Japanese school in Spore, i can understand how difficult it is to walk even daintily, notwithstanding at such a fast speed!

Having fulfilled our "wish" of seeing a geisha in flesh, we left for Kyoto station for some late dinner. As the shops close pretty early at about 8 pm, we missed a chance to do some light shopping, and decide to a train back to Osaka.

There was a small episode of us getting lost at the Osaka station, where we were unable to, initially, locate the exit to our hotel. Thinking back, we were probably too tired to navigate our way well like the previous 2 days (when we had almost no difficulty, other than locating the Umeda sky building). Although there were not as many platforms/lines/exits in Osaka as compared to Tokyo, train stations in Tokyo were generally easier to navigate bcos the names of each platform/line/exit are clearly displayed at every turn. This means that if you know the name of the line (i.e. train) you're taking and the exit you need to take to go to your destination, you generally will not get lost in Tokyo. This does not seem to be the case for Osaka.

Fortunately, we managed to locate our exit after much orientation and turns. As we would be leaving for Tokyo first thing in the morning the next day, we'd be packing our luggage first before taking a good night's sleep.

Look out for the next post on Day 4: Tokyo!