Temples & Shrines

 Today was our day to visit a couple of very famous Kyoto temples and shrines.  The first was the Fushimi Inari Shrine.  This is the one you see all the time with the famous red torii gates.  To say there were a lot of people visiting would be an understatement.  At first I thought I would never get a clean photo but it turns out it was possible on the way back down.  Each of the gates was dedicated by someone that paid for the privilege.  I don't know the exact count buy I'm sure a lot of money was raised.





  Next we visited a Japanese rock garden, Tofuki-ji Temple.  While not terribly photogenic, it was nice seeing what one of these gardens was like.  Large rocks were strategically placed in rocks that had been raked with both straight lines and circles.  I'm not sure exactly how they accomplished this without leaving footprints but they did.  It was very peaceful but it was time to move on to lunch.

We stopped at a dinner that someone said was the Japanese equivalent to a Denny's.  School children and adults alike filled the restaurant.  I had a bento box with several items to sample.  It was a fun little stop.

Our afternoon temple was Shokoku-ji, The Golden Temple.  Set behind a pond, the golden temple shown in the sun.  People crowded around the fence to get a shot.  The temple was burned in 1950 by a crazed monk that thought it was too beautiful for the human eye(Kinkakuji).  It's been restored and is enjoyed by many.





 Tonight we ventured into the Pontocho neighborhood for to dine at Tempura Endo Yasaka.  Restaurants here often focus on one type of food instead of offering many options.  We sat around a bar so we could watch the chefs preparing our tempura.  Many varieties were presented one course after another.  It was all quite delicious and interesting.  The batter is very light and crispy with no oily taste from the frying.  





Tomorrow: Bamboo Forest and Monkeys


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Out and About in Tokyo

Image
Since we had all day before our workshop officially started, several of us headed out to shop.  Japan is the home of Uniqlo , a store with high quality but inexpensive basics.  With the Yen being weak against the dollar it made everything even more reasonable.  We also wen to d47 , part museum part high quality crafts store.  They have gathered the best crafts from the 47 districts in Japan and have brought them together in this store.  Our first evening we had a group dinner at  Gonpachi Nishi-Azabu which served as the inspiration for Quentin Terantino for his restaurant scene in Kill Bill.  It combined both entertainment and good food so made for a great first dinner.  We had a variety of Japanese specialties served family style for the group while watching the chefs cook and plate the food. The next morning we took a train to to the Miji-Jingu Shrine .  This  Shinto Shrine (the official religion of Japan) is dedicated to Emperor Mei...
Read more

Goodbye for Now

Image
 I believe everyone was leaving today, most in the morning for our return flights.  Tokyo is a popular destination so there's plenty of direct flights to cities across the US.  Haneda is an easy airport to navigate with some nice shopping to fill your wait time.  Our flights were on time and uneventful. There's no other way to say it but I loved Japan.  The streets are clean, graffiti and crime free, and no worries about getting sick from the food or water.  The people are polite and quiet.  The heated bidets have spoiled me to the point I'm getting one as soon as I return home.   We hit many of the highlights but there's much more to be explored.  I'm afraid the lengthy plane flight frightens many away from this destination but it shouldn't.  The language could be a barrier but Google translate is a fantastic tool that will get you through most situations.  I hope you'll consider a trip there soon. Until next time, Sayonara...
Read more

Land of the Rising Sun

Image
 On my bucket list for years, I was thrilled when Ira Block   and Compass Rose Compass Rose Expeditions announced their two week trip for May.  The Japanese sense of order really called out to the accountant in me. Thanks to the airline pricing games, for the first few days we flew to Los Angeles to visit our son and daughter-in-law before flying to San Francisco and on to Tokyo.  We flew Japanese Air to Hanada (one of the two Tokyo airports) on an eleven hour flight.  Nice and uneventful just like I like it. We used the  Visit Japan website to fill out our arrival documents which saved us from filling out paperwork on landing.     We arrived in Tokyo around 3 pm and found a huge line going through immigration.  Worry not, this is the land of the organized and there were lots of people to assist in getting through it quickly.  Many countries could learn from them.  A short ride to our Hotel,  Shibuya Excel Hotel in the,...
Read more