Last days in Kyoto

We are now leaving Kyoto for Hiroshima on the shinkansen, the Sakura Super-express train.  It is Tuesday afternoon here in Japan.  Yesterday, we visited Nara and explored a bit more of Kyoto, but I had not slept well the night before, so I was fatigued by late afternoon, so we returned to the hotel early to rest.  The girls went out for dinner together, but I was too tired to move.  My lingering cough seemed worse, so I wanted to rest as much as possible.   Now, relaxing in the plush seats as this train glides along the tracks, I’ll catch up on blogging.

On Monday morning, we got up early again, caught the first hotel shuttle at 8:40 a.m. to Kyoto Station to get a train for Nara, the first capital of Japan, established as the seat of national government in 1710.  I sat next to an American man from Texas who was traveling with his son and his son’s roommate, both in their mid-20s.  He had learned to play the Japanese flute and had come to Japan to participate in a music festival before traveling around the country.  Like us, the three of them were taking a day trip to visit the temples and shrines at Nara. 

Five-story pagoda at Kofuku-ji

We stopped at the tourist information center in the train station, where the helpful receptionist recommended a free guide service.   We agreed to this and walked a couple blocks to meet Chisato, a 20-year college student who volunteered because she wanted to practice her English.  It was nice to have someone lead us and explain everything to us, as opposed to spending time consulting maps and reading signs.  She explained that the levels of pagodas have distinct meaning.  The first three-story pagoda we saw (built in 1114) for example, represents the past, present and future.  Pointing to the sky, on top of the pagodas are spires with nine rings spaced one above of the other.  In Buddhism, she explained there are ten stages of life, the last or tenth one being enlightenment.  The rings represent the first nine.  The five-story pagoda at Kofuku-ji was built in 1426, modeled on the one from 730, which burned to the ground. (This seems to be the case with all the wooden buildings.)  This pagoda, 164 feet tall, is the second tallest in Japan.  

Katya greeting deer in Nara Park

Walking among the deer, which are considered divine messengers and therefore protected, Katya tried to pet as many as she could.  The babies ran away.  She said that they are not people-trained yet.

Daibutsu-den, Todia-ji

Our next stop was the most imposing structure in Nara, the Todia-ji complex, created by Emperor Shomu as the seat of authority for Buddhism in the 8th century.  The temple burned several times over the ages; the current structures were completed in the 7th century. 

The largest is the Daibutsu-den, the Hall of the Great Buddha.  Two gold-covered fish tails adorn the roof, intended as a protection against fire.  (Most of the temples in Japan have some sort of symbol on the roof for protection against fire, but the history of fires seems to indicate that these symbols are not very effective.)   

Great Buddha

Chisato showed us how to waft the incense in the large urn in front of the entrance onto ourselves for good luck and health.   Inside, the 53-foot Buddha, the largest statue of Buddha in Japan, looms behind the altar. The statue is made of 437 tons of bronze, 286 pounds of pure gold, 165 pounds of mercury and 7 tons of vegetable wax.   To the right and left are equally impressive if not quite as large gold-covered statues of bodhisattvas. 

Lanterns at Kasuga Taisha

Climbing steps and slopes for about 15 minutes, we reached Kasuga Taisha, where more than 2000 stone lanterns line the major pathways.  The lanterns are tributes to the Shinto gods.  Founded in 768 by the Fugiwara family, the shrine is remarkable not just for the lanterns nestled under the trees on moss-covered ground.  I found the main building striking on the outside, lined along one side with hanging lanterns as well as standing ones.

Lanterns hanging beside the main shrine structure

Okonomiyaki

Having been treated to this wonderful guided tour of the three most famous religious complexes in Nara, we walked through the park back toward town.  Chisato asked us what type of Japanese food we liked best.  She recommended an okonomiyaki restaurant and joined us for lunch.  Often referred to as Japanese pizza, it is, I think, much for like an omelet.  The rectangular table, where we sat with our feet in a well beneath, had a large griddle running the length of it.  Our server took our orders and then turned on the griddle.  She returned with metal bowls of raw egg and vegetables, giving them to us to stir ourselves and pour onto the hot griddle which she had spread oil on.  She then added strips of meat on the omelets for the others and pumpkin squash on mine.  About five minutes later, she returned to show us how to flip them ourselves.  When they were done, she came by and added sauce on top as well as shredded bonita for the carnivore.  A man then came to our table with a squirt bottle of mayonnaise, from which, with great flair, he finished our culinary creations with precise stripes of condiment from a distance of about four feet.  We each had a tiny metal spatula for cutting off chunks of the okonomiyaki and putting them one our plates.  This is a good technique, I think, as the food not currently being eaten stays warm.  The food we were served at the ryokan in Kanazawa was wonderful, but I think this has been my favorite dining experience so far. 

Ginkakuji

Thanking Chisato for her kindness and recommendation for great food, we left her and walked back to the station.  It was still early in the afternoon, so when we arrived back in Kyoto about an hour later, we decided to explore the area of East Kyoto containing the Philosopher’s Path.  We took a city bus from the station to Ginkakuji-michi, or the Silver Palace.  Paying 500 yen (about $6.25) each for entrance, we were severely disappointed that we could only stroll around the grounds of the complex and not actually see inside any of the buildings.  We had thought to get at least a glimpse of the beautiful sliding panels decorated with silver for which the place is famous.  Downcast in the hot and muggy weather (I should mention that the California girls looked out the window of the hotel Monday morning and, noticing that the sky was gray but there was no rain, commented that it was probably cooler now.  They have no experience with this type of climate; I knew, having grown up on the east coast of the US, that the sky intimated weather which would be even more hot and muggy than that of the previous sunny day.), we looked forward to strolling along the Philosopher’s Pathway, which follows a canal lined by trees.  It was not at all impressive or lovely.  Both sides of the canal had clumps of weeds and grasses growing without any plan.  Having become used to carefully maintained landscapes, we found this disconcerting.  Were it truly a natural area, it would be nice, but it simply gives the impression of an unattended side yard. 

The temples near the Philosopher’s Path were not right beside it  Each one required a hike up a hill, and, fearing that we would again reach a place where we would be under-whelmed, we chose just to continue to walk downhill toward the town and bus stops.  Right before the bus stop, we decided to make a last attempt and followed a sign that indicated a temple was only 300 meters away.  However, this led us another sign saying the temple was 300 meters away and we still could not see it.  Sighing, we retraced our steps to a bus stop.  Soon, a bus came and carried us to the neighborhood of our hotel in central Kyoto.  We bought cold drinks and Japanese snacks at the 7-11 and got back to the hotel to collapse.  I never left the room again that day.  The girls enjoyed going out on their own to the same place we had eaten dinner the night before.

Pilgrims in Goeido, Nishi Hongwanji

Feeling somewhat better this morning, I got ready to go out and see a couple more temples with the girls before noon.  (“No, Katya, you cannot just stay here!!!”)  We caught the hotel shuttle bus to the station for our sightseeing, since both the temples we wanted to see were nearby.  The first complex we visited was Nishi-Honganji, the mother temple and headquarters for the Pure Land or Jodo sect of Buddhism.  From the outside, most of the temples look similar; inside, they vary in the elaborateness and layout.  There are two main buildings at Nishi-Hongwanji, Goeido (Founder’s Hall, constructed in 1760) and Amidado (Hall of Amida Buddha, built in 1636).  After taking off our shoes and putting our wet umbrellas in plastic bags provided, we ascended the steep steps to Goeido.  Entering, we saw dozens of older Japanese men and women on their knees and moving around the floor, cheerfully wiping the tatami mats, of which there must be at least a hundred.

Goeido, Nishi Hongwanji

The hall is enormous and the walls, columns and altar decorations dazzle the eye with shining gold.  Because the Japanese people seemed to be there as part of a pilgrimage, the usual moveable wooden barriers had been moved aside to allow them to approach the altar.  Luckily, we were allowed to get close to it also, and photography was allowed.  I’m not sure any photos can truly depict the beauty and awesome atmosphere of this peaceful place. 

In the building to the east, the Amidado, is nearly as striking.  A service attended by at least a hundred was taking place, so we skirted the interior of the hall so as not to disturb them.

Sheltering as best we could under our umbrellas from the heavy rain, we made it back to Kyoto Station and caught the shuttle back to the hotel, where we collected our luggage and checked out.  A quick shuttle ride back to the station deposited us near the entrance gate for the Shinkansen tracks.  We bought lunch to eat on the train and boarded after the cleaning people had done their work.  We had a short ride to Shin-Osaka and then waited for 30 minutes for the next Shinkansen to Hiroshima.