Walk Through Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 2016

Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine and Kiyomizu-dera Temple were the main sites on our agenda for the day, but the Kodai-ji Zen Temple (高台寺) was nearby in Higashiyama-ku. It is a temple of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism and the largest subtemple of the Kennin-ji branch.

Zen garden! I just want to run out there with a rake! 

You can see the Ryōzen Kannon sticking out of the trees.

Kevin walking around the garden

Me in front of a scenic pond and Kodai-ji Zen Temple

Gardens

From certain points of the Kodai-ji Zen Temple you can see the Ryōzen Kannon (霊山観音) War Memorial commemorating those who died in the Pacific War located in Eastern Kyoto. The statue of the Bodhisattva Kannon was made out steel and concrete by Hirosuke Ishikawa in 1955. The statue is 80 ft high.  The site also has a memorial hall in honor of the unknown soldier killed in World War II.

Side view of the Ryōzen Kannon from the Kodai-ji Zen Temple

Ryōzen Kannon and War Memorial building

Ryōzen Kannon  close-up

Through the gate

From there we headed back through Maruyama Park, which was gorgeous. The park has a weeping cherry tree, musical entertainment, and what appeared to be a heron trained to pose for pictures.

Maruyama Park

Trained heron

Music captured in a video I haven't uploaded yet

Park and Weeping Cherry Tree

To get to Gion, we passed through the Yasaka Shrine. Seriously, you can't get from point A to Point B in Kyoto without accidentally walking through a beautiful shrine or temple.

Yasaka Shrine

In Gion we walked around some more, did some shopping, and finally headed to the train station for our hotel reservation in Osaka that evening.

River in Gion

Streets in Gion

Gion

Kiyomizu-dera and Kimonos, Kyoto 2016

Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺), is part of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto" UNESCO World Heritage site. It was originally affiliated with the Hossō sect but in 1965 it severed that affiliation, and now it is under the care of the "Kitahossō" sect. Also, apparently, there's not a single nail used in the entire structure! What?

At the Kiyomizu-dera Temple site

Oh, and we went to a kimono rental place! Andrew did it with his friends when he visited Kyoto and told us we should definitely do it. There were many tourists there both from Japan and from outside of Japan. The sizes were crazy and thin Kevin was an XXXL. A Japanese women dressed me in about 6 layers. She was clearly an expert but all the layers took a while. 

I love this photo- he's so cute.

Scary dragons

View of Kyoto

This is the main temple- it's known for the way it hangs over the edge

My new friends. We're starting a band.

After the temple, we walked through the town and got some lunch. We did a little shopping. And then we returned the kimonos. We'd been wearing them for a while and it was pretty hot. Kimonos are more of a cold-weather outfit.

Walking through the steep town street.

Enjoying myself!

See you later.

Hair close-up.

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and Temple, Kyoto 2016

Arashiyama is beautiful district of Kyoto that part modern city and part Japanese Western movie. The main sites there besides the district itself, is the Tenryu-ji Buddhist Temple, and the amazingly beautiful Sagano Bamboo Grove.

We went to the Bamboo Grove first because we were excited to see it. Not overrated at all! I want to live in a bamboo grove- so peaceful and beautiful. The way the light filters through different parts of the grove gives each part a different color and look throughout the day.

Kevin and I in the Bamboo Grove

It's a winding trail through a huge bamboo grove

A bright and open part of the grove with no trail

Inside the grove is the Nonomiya-jinja Shinto Shrine, where Imperial Princesses purified themselves here for three years before serving at the Ise Shrine.

Kevin entering the Nonomiya-jinja Shrine

Inside the Nonomiya-jinja Shrine

Inside the Nonomiya-jinja Shrine

Good luck tokens

The adjoining Tenryu-ji Zen Temple and Garden is amazing. We even stopped to meditate there. My pictures really don't do it justice at all. This was one of my favorite temples, and obviously we saw a lot!

Kevin at the Tenryu-ji Buddhist Temple

The Tenryu-ji Buddhist Temple

The Tenryu-ji Buddhist Temple and gardens

The Tenryu-ji Buddhist Temple garden

Before we left we walked around the town some more and got something to eat. Specifically, we got octopus balls. Technically you're supposed to have these in Osaka, but the little doughy Kyoto ones were my favorite.

 

Arashiyama

Arashiyama

Octopus Balls- mostly fried dough with a little octopus in it

Yum yum yum.

Green tea ice cream! Perfect day!

Sensō-ji Temple and Asakusa Shrine, Tokyo 2016

The Sensō-ji Temple is Tokyo's oldest Buddhist temple (645 CE), but the temple was rebuilt after it was destroyed by bombing during World War II. It's in the Asakusa neighborhood of Tokyo's special ward of Taito. The temple is dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon.

At the entrance to the Temple's street is the Kaminarimon or "Thunder Gate." After the Thunder Gate is Nakamise-dori street with about 90 shops.

Kevin and Andrew in front of Sensō-ji's Thunder Gate

Nakamise-dori street with shops

Sensō-ji Temple at the end of Nakamise-dori street

At the end of the row of shops there's the Hōzōmon or "Treasure House Gate" which is the entrance to the temple. Inside the gate is a five-story pagoda and the main hall.

Andrew, me, Kevin in front of the Treasure House Gate

Breathing in incense to clear out the demons.

Praying at the alter.

Temple artwork

Then we did our fortunes. You shake a box and stick comes out. The stick has a Japanese number on it. You match the number to the number on the little drawer and pull out a paper fortune.

 

Kevin shaking the box.

Me with stick and fortune in hand.

My fortune was the "Best Fortune" and said lots of good things.

Kevin's was "Worst Fortune" and said basically the opposite of mine.
"You will have bad thoughts while drinking."

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Kevin in front of Kannon

Pagoda

Kevin and Andrew- now a little worried about Kevin's fortune.
They cleansed some more demons.

Next to the temple is a Shinto shrine, the Asakusa Shrine. Asakusa Shrine is one of the most famous Shinto shrines in Tokyo.  The shrine honors the three men who founded the Sensō-ji Temple. The shrine was built in 1649 during the Edo Period. The shrine and its surrounding area and buildings have also been the site of many Shinto and Buddhist festivals for centuriessuch as the Sanja Matsuri, held in late May.

Me and my spirit animal, the Asian dragon.

Asakusa Shrine

This is when Andrew told us that you can tie up your bad fortune and pay for a new one. So Kevin did that.

Tying up his bad fortune

Paying for a new one

This time he got an adequate one. And promised to never get another fortune.

We went to a lot of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines while we were in Japan so it's worth giving a small amount of background upfront. Shinto is Japan's traditional religion, as opposed to foreign religions such as Buddhism and Christianity. Buddhism was originally a religion from India but was introduced to Japan from China. It has been practiced in Japan since about 550 CE, and possibly earlier. There are many sects of Buddhism practiced in Japan.

The relationship that developed in Japan between Shinto and Buddhism is complicated. The Cliff Notes are that before the Meiji Restoration it was common for a Shinto Shrine to have a Buddhist Temple inside, or vice versa. Sometimes they were built next to each other. During the Meiji Restoration the new government ordered that the two religions be separated. However, the connection in Japan between the two religions continued in practice and you can still see it today.