I have found a new favorite city. Kyoto. Many people know about Kyoto from the movies, particularly Memoirs of a Geisha. I got to go to so many wonderful places. We first went to the Sanmon of Nanzen- ji. It is this LARGE gate that symbolizes the three roads to Buddhist liberation. Although a bit humid it was so beautiful we payed 500 yen and climbed steep steps to the top of the Sanmon. Up top we had an amazing view and a wonderful breeze. After that we took a cab to the Kiyomizu Temple. Kiyomizu means clear water (sometime translated pure water). This is a unique temple because it had both a Buddhist temple and a Shinto Shrine in the same location. Here I was able to learn about both types of shrines from our taxi driver guide.
I stood on the balcony that a bunch of people jumped off and about 83% survived and the popular expression "to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu" was born. This is like the english phrase "to take the plunge". I thought it sounded more like taking a leap of faith. I was able to taste the water of Kiyomizu known for bringing wisdom, health, and longevity. From there I was able to go to the portion of the temple that was the Shinto portion. I was able to learn how to pray for/request assistance from the gods. I Even got to rub the head of a statue that will make me smarter.
After Kiyomizu we went to the Sanjusangen-do. An AMAZING place where we saw 1,001 buddah statues. They were all made of Japanese cypress. 124 were made in the 12th century. The remaining were made in the 13th century when the temple was renovated after a fire.
The third portion of our journey took us to the Fushimi Inari Taisha. It is a shrine with 10,000 tori gates. It was AMAZING to see these. We were only able to take the 5 minute tour but WOW. I cannot wait to go back and see all of them. The long walk to see everything is a 4 k hike.
Following that we saw drove to two other shrines unfortunately the first one was closing and the while at the second one it started storming.
We then drove through Gion in hopes of catching a glimpse of a Geisha or Maiko. NO such luck. Izac and I had to get back to the train after that so we were unable to do anymore.
Our next trip I would like to spend some more time at the Fushimi Inari Shrine, see a bit more of Gion, go to the Golden Pavilion and the castle, and see the Japanese cultural show.
I look forward to my next visit to this Wonderful city
