Day 9: Kiyomizu Gion

We ordered egg muffin breakfast meal (similar to Mac's muffin meal) at Lotteria, a fast food chain, located in the underground mall of Kyoto station. Price: ¥390
First stop: Kiyomizudera (The Clear Water Temple) is the main temple of the Hosso sect of Buddhism. It was founded in 807 but its present buildings were rebuilt in 1633. Nearest bus stop: Kiyomizu-michi or Gojo-zaka. Open daily, 6am-6pm. Admission: ¥300.
We walked up a gentle sloping street (Ninnen-zaka and Sannen-zaka walk) lined with souvenir shops and restaurants and found ourselves at the entrance. From here, we walked under the Nio-mon or Gate of the Deva Kings. The Deva Kings, along with Korean lion-dogs (koma-inu) protect the temple from any evil that may enter.

View of the nearby town from the 2nd gate (the structure on the right of the previous photo)

This is Hondo or Main Hall of Kiyomizu Temple and is dedicated to Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of compassion.

Butai (dancing stage) is held up by 139 wooden pillars (each 49 feet high) that extends the stage 10 meters over a 12 meter cliff and offers beautiful views of the city. Note: Due to the high popularity of the place, it is impossible to take pictures of you and the main temple's platform without an extra human body, arm or head appearing!

Nurete Kannon (Water-soaked Kannon) - to pour water over the image is considered an act of purification. Actually, we thought it's for good luck... hahaha... We collected water from the small spring fountain, walked about 3m and poured the water over the image of Kannon in a water basin. Did it three times lor (cos we followed the person in front of us, haha)

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 the water from the falls in metal cups with long wooden poles (they are sterilized via UV ray, so no worries) and drink it to bring health and good fortune. Just look at the queue!! We queued to drink the water (erh, no special taste; it's just water...) and if you are lazy to queue, you can buy the bottled version from the vendor.

Jishu-jinja, dedicated to Okuninushino-Mikoto, a god of love and 'good matches', sells countless charms to help you snag the one you love. There are two 'love stones' positioned around 18m apart which the lovelorn must walk between with eyes closed to confirm their loved one's affection. PS: With so many people around, I don't think it's a good idea to try this!

We left temple and strolled around the area. Right photo: Bought a bun with green tea powdered paste (¥300) which tastes average. Top left: Japanese geisha figurines for ¥1050 each; i bought one as souvenir! Bottom left: Green tea-flavored Kit Kat is only found in Kyoto and is an excellent (and expensive) gift to bring home.

We bump into geisha! White make-up and elaborate kimono and hair of a maiko is the popular image held of them.

Strolled through Maruyama Park to enjoy the lovely autumn scenery

Top: Cute dog in samurai custom. Bottom: Street performance in the park

The entrance to Chionin Temple is through the two-story San-mon (main gate) and then up a steep flight of stairs. Standing 24 meters tall and 50 meters wide, it is the largest wooden gate in Japan and dates back to the early 1600s.

Chionin is the head temple of the Jodo sect of Japanese Buddhism. Top: The massive Miedo Hall houses the temple's principle object of worship: a statue of the priest Honen, who founded the Jodo sect. Bottom: Gardens On the Chion-in grounds. Open daily, 9am -4pm. We didn't manage to explore the temple as we came too late and the place was closing...!! =( Gotta rush over to the next temple since everything closes at 5pm!

Admission to Heian Shrine is free. The torii before the main gate is one of the largest in Japan, and the main building, or shaden, is designed to imitate the Kyoto Imperial Palace on a three-fourth scale.

Yasaka (Gion) Shrine is open 24 hours. Top: Many lanterns decorate the shrine's stage and are lit after dark. Bottom: Honden (spirit hall), a single-story building with a wooden shingle roof. Here worshippers wake up the god with a rattle of the pan shaped bells at the front of the building, then pray before the altar.

We bought snacks from the street vendors in the park. Yummy takoyaki (aka octopus balls, 6 balls for ¥350) and tempura fishcake (¥250)

We walked through Gion, the most famous geisha district in Kyoto, and is filled with ochaya (tea houses where geisha entertain), theaters, shops and restaurants. The main attraction are its traditional wooden machiya style merchant houses, built in a design characteristic of Kyoto. Due to the fact that property taxes were based upon street frontage, the houses were built with narrow facades only five to six meters wide, but extend up to twenty meters in from the street. Food here is really expensive! and we had to settle dinner at one of the cheaper restaurants opposite. hahaha

Day 8: Imperial Nijo Nanzenji

We signed up in advanced for the 10am English guidance tour (duration: 60mins, free) for Kyoto Imperial Palace, took a train ride to Imadegawa Station (nearest station to the agency's office, fare ¥250), walked 10mins to arrive at the agency's office, handed over the confirmation slip for registration and were directed to a waiting room where we watched a short introductory video clip (~15min).

Entrance to the agency's office

Rich in tradition, Kyoto Imperial Palace preserves the look and ambiance of the Palace as it had been in the time of Japan's ancient imperial dynasties. The current Palace was rebuilt in 1855 and comprises several structures that reflect the architectural styles of various periods. Timber and cypress-bark roofing being the building materials of choice in ancient Japan.
Sliding door with paintings

The Heian-period technique of garden landscaping known as Go-shintai was employed as a way of paying homage to the 'unique and extraordinary' that exists in nature.

Beautiful display of autumn leave color!

We had lunch at this fast food outlet (guess it's a rival of Yoshinoya). Beef set going for ¥420 and the food tastes really similar to Yoshinoya.

Next: Nijo Castle (Nijojo) consists of two concentric rings of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens. Admission: ¥600. No photography inside Ninomaru Palace.
Ninomaru Palace is built almost entirely of Hinoki cypress. The decoration includes lavish quantities of gold leaf and elaborate wood carvings, intended to impress visitors with the power and wealth of the shoguns. The sliding doors and walls of each room are decorated with wall paintings by artists of the Kanō school. The most famous feature is the "nightingale floors" in the corridors: To protect the occupants from sneak attacks and assassins, the builders constructed the floors of the corridors in such a way as to squeak like birds when anyone walks on them.

Honmaru Palace

The garden has a large pond with three islands and features numerous carefully placed stones and topiary pine trees.

The bridge over the moat will bring to you to Honmaru compound. Here, we can have an overview of the Honmaru Palace from the ruined donjon.

Nanzenji Temple, whose spacious grounds are located at the base of Kyoto's forested Higashiyama mountains, is one of the most important Zen temples in all of Japan. Nearest bus stop: Nanzenji, Eikando-michi. Nearest subway station: Keage. Open daily, 8.30am-5pm.
Beautiful autumn color along the path towards Sanmon Gate. The temple's distinctive two-storey entrance gate is a classic "gateless" gate of Zen Buddhism that symbolizes entrance into the most sacred part of the temple precincts. PS: You can pay ¥500 for admission to the 2nd storey for pleasant views over the surrounding area of the city.

Nanzenji Temple and its interior

The garden is particularly spectacular with autumn leaves and it's definitely very relaxing and enjoyable to walk around the temple complex!

Inside Hojo - the abbot's quarters are sliding doors (fusuma) with impressive 16th-century paintings which divide the chambers. These wall panels of the Twenty-Four Paragons of Filial Piety and Hermits were created by Eitoku Kano (1543-90) of the Kano school. Admission: ¥500

It's finally dinner time!! AG's starved and tired look changed immediately when food arrived, haha. There are many restaurants at the underground mall of Kyoto Station and Bus Terminal which can cater to your budget. Food is good here, a bowl of ramen at ¥680.

Day 7: Ninnaji Kinkakuji Pontocho

Good weather today, yeah! We had breakfast at the bakery behind our guesthouse. All these delicious and lovely pastries for ¥760.

We bought a City Bus All-day Pass, Adult: ¥500, for unlimited travel via bus on the same day to get around Kyoto as most of the attractions are not within directly access via Kyoto Subway Line. The downside of taking a bus is that the journey time is longer and we gotta spent time waiting for the bus to come as they run according to schedule.

Bus schedule can be found at the bus berth (top right photo). If the bus reaches two bus stops before this stop, a yellow pop-up will appear (bottom right photo) in the panel bearing your bus number and you can tell that your bus is arriving soon. As the bus was packed to the door, we didn't manage to squeeze into the bus and had to wait for ONE hour for the next one. It didn't help that this was an open bus berth and with strong chilly wind; we had to take shelter at a nearby office to keep warm. *bbbrrrr

First stop: Ninnaji Temple - Admission to the grounds is free, allowing visitors to view the 17th century five-storey pagoda and the plantation of dwarf cherry trees. Admission to the temple is ¥500 and you get to see some beautifully painted screen walls and a beautiful walled garden. Open daily 9am-4.30pm. Nearest bus stop: Omuro Ninnaji
Beautiful autumn leaves!

Next: Ryoanji Template (Admission: Free to ¥500) - We strolled around the compound to admire the beautiful garden and pool... We didn't pay to go into the Zen garden as we figured that it's not worthwhile to pay so much just to see some rocks (see the next photo, courtesy of the internet), haha
¥500 admission fee will grant you access to the Zen garden. The garden consists of raked gravel and fifteen moss-covered boulders, which are placed so that, when looking at the garden from any angle (other than from above) only fourteen of the boulders are visible at one time. It is traditionally said that only through attaining enlightenment would one be able to view the fifteenth boulder. The meaning of the garden's arrangement is unknown and up to each visitor's interpretation.

Hungry boyfriend having a quick snack while we waited at the bus stop for the next bus

Next: Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) is an impressive Zen temple built overlooking a large pond and whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf. It was built to demonstrate the extravagant Kitayama culture that developed in the wealthy aristocratic circles of Kyoto during Yoshimitsu's times. Admission: ¥400. The admission ticket is actually a 平安符, so don't throw it away...
Each floor represents a different style of architecture - 1st floor is built in the Shinden style with its natural wood pillars and white plaster walls contrasts yet complements the gilded upper stories of the pavilion. 2nd floor is built in the Bukke style with its exterior completely covered in gold leaf. 3rd and uppermost floor is built in the style of a Chinese Zen Hall, is gilded inside and out, and is capped with a golden phoenix.

The place is so crowded that it's pretty impossible to get a stranger to help us to snap a nice photo of us and the Kinkakuji without any extra... Gotta wait patiently before we managed to capture the above nice photo.

Make a wish, toss the coin and if the coin lands inside the container, your wish will come true. AG made several attempts but none of his coins entered the container... What a 'waste' of money (think he spent almost ¥500 worth of coins), hahaha

Being the clever gal, I got an Omikuji (fortune slip) written in English for ¥100. I remembered that my luck was above average, so I gotta keep the slip. Yeah!

We had lunch at a nearby Japanese restaurant. AG had Oyakodon don (chicken, egg, rice) with small udon (price: ¥790) while I had curry chicken rice (price: ¥880). Food is average.

We headed back to town and strolled though Pontocho, one of Kyoto's traditional nightlife districts, hoping to spot a geisha apprentice at night. It is a narrow street running from Shijo-dori to Sanjo-dori, one block west of the Kamo River.
Cobblestones gleam in the soft light of traditional lanterns and the narrow flagstone entrance of some of Kyoto’s most exclusive establishments beckon. Pretty interesting to see that a very traditional Japanese style of nightlife is still preserved here.

We shopped around the area first before proceeding for dinner at Saizeriya, a western restaurant (our first meal which is not Japanese food!) which is similar to Jack's Place. Tasty hamburger, chicken steak, tiramisu and Kirin beer. Bill came up to ~¥1000.

Did grocery shopping at Lawson Store (near our guesthouse) where everything is going for ¥100 each. Cheap!!

The pace in Kyoto is definitely slower and more relaxed than Tokyo =) Most sightseeing close around 5pm and the shopping stores close around 8pm... Guess the people prefer to sleep early and wake up early bah =P

Day 6: Kyoto

We woke up to a rainy day =( ... and decided to go for a hot spring bath at the hotel's public bath house (separate bath for man and woman) in the morning. Luckily the bath area was empty and I had got the whole area to myself (else I think I will be too embarassed to step into the bath without any clothing) . It's pretty refreshing and relaxing to soak in the hot spring bath in this cold weather, nice.

Breakfast at the bakery store at the station

Journey: Hakone Yumoto Station --- 15min by Hakone-Tozan Line mountain railway ---> Odawara ----- 126min Shinkansen Hikari 515 ---> Kyoto --- 16min JR Sagano Line ---> Uzumasa Station
Cost of Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto: ¥11,240 (SGD 175), one way. Super expensive right??

Interior of the train. You can buy food/drinks from the push cart; there is no cafeteria on board the train.

Sceneries along the way towards Kyoto

We got a private room with Tatami matt for 2 persons and shared bathroom at Guest House Bola Bola, ¥5000 (SGD78) a night. Rooms are separated by a thin paper board/wall and we can hear our neighbours' (a family) conversations pretty clearly, hahaha. Plus point: We were able to surf internet for free as there is a computer terminal in the living room.

Cute and smart-looking dog (owner's pet)

Lunch at Sumiya, a fast food outlet similar in concept to Yoshinoya except that it specialises in chicken dishes. Grilled chicken with rice at ¥380

As it was late (we had lunch at about 4.30pm) and most of the attractions should be closed within an hour or so, we decided to check out Kyoto Station and its shopping mall which contains Isetan department, restaurants, shops and etc. Above: View from the top (Level 12) of the shopping mall over the Kyoto station

Left to right: Kyoto Tower Hotel ; busy cross-junction ; bus terminal

We bought discounted sushi from Isetan supermarket at ¥490 per set (since it's closing time!) and a bottle of sake for dinner at our own room.

Today's a pretty 'relax' day as we spent the bulk of our time traveling from Hakone to Kyoto... Should tuck in early for tmr's sightseeing around Kyoto!