For the majority of the day, Breelyn and I went on an adventure across the city to see all of the major tourist destinations that we had not yet visited. We purchased 500 yen day passes for the bus, which were very useful and made getting lost easier on our wallets. Along the way we also met several English-speakers who were fun to talk to as we explored.
First we went to Toji-ji Market, which serendipitously occurs on the 21st of every month. I bought a bag featuring Fujin and Raijin (the wind and thunder gods, also my favorite Shinto gods) and a pair of earrings for my mom. Breelyn was dead-set on finding a kimono that fit her, because her height made it difficult for her to find clothing in Japan. While we were traversing the market, we met an Englishwoman named Holly who lives in Japan and who was shepherding her son named Akira. When Breelyn finally found a kimono and matching obi, Holly explained that the kimono was ”posh” and formal, appropriate for weddings or funerals. I was just glad that we found a kimono and obi that matched, because the salesman kept bringing out obi that weren’t quite right and I was able to find one on the table that worked well with the foliage on the kimono.
After we finished at Toji-ji, we went to Kiyomizu-dera. We had gone there earlier in the trip but had never entered the temple. We ate lunch before going in, and then ascended the steps toward the red gate. There were many people at the temple, but for good reason. The beautiful orange and white facades of the temple buildings were breathtaking, particularly in the afternoon sunlight. Looking out over the hill, you could see the Kyoto skyline. I think this was my favorite of the places we visited today. I realized that the view of the main pagoda was my desktop background on my laptop, so I decided to take another version from the pathway to the smaller pagoda:
Once we left Kiyomizu-dera, Breelyn and I sat on a bus for 27 stops to get to Kinkaku-ji. We basically crossed the city on a bus. For a while on the bus Breelyn spoke with a man from the Netherlands who was also going to Kinkaku-ji. He was touring the major cities of Japan and this was his first day in Kyoto. I had wanted to see the Golden Pavillion for a while, and I knew I’d never hear the end of it if I failed to see this while I was in Kyoto. Yes, all of the gold was a bit gaudy, but it was amazing to see the pavillion reflected in the green water. There were many tourists here as well as at Kiyomizu-dera. And many of them were taking photos, but we were still able to get some good views.
Once we had our fill of Kinkaku-ji, we went to Ryoan-ji to see the famous rock garden. This garden was slightly larger than I expected, and it was nice to quietly sit for a short while. I figure going to this garden is equivalent to checking something off of my Zen bucket list. And I think it was apropos that the Zen team go to the most famous Zen garden in the world. We also walked through the landscape garden, which had many interesting trees that looked like the trees from the Lorax, according to Breelyn.
From Ryoan-ji we took a bus to the end of a line, and then transferred to another bus which took us back to Shijo. We weren’t sure which stop to leave at, and a student who was studying abroad in Kyoto talked to us for a while. We got off at the right stop, but it was nice to meet her.
All of us are going out for dinner tonight, and some of us (myself included) plan to go out to play pachinko afterwards. It’ll be a good way to get rid of some of my coins, since it only costs 4 yen to play. And I don’t have much cash left anyway, so it won’t be hard to cap myself.
All in all, I had a good, fulfilling day. My final post will be a reflection on the trip, which I will likely write on the long flight back home tomorrow. This time I won’t forget to take the meclizine.
