Kyoto Attractions

We started earlier than usual and after following our morning routine, we found ourselves riding on Bus 2 toward Kyoto for a two-hour trip. Our guide, Hideki, took advantage of the time to present a brief history of Japan to us. Initially, Hideki was difficult to understand. He would emit a phrase followed by a grunt to inform us that he was translating the next phrase. After I learned how to cut out the grunts and paste the phrases together, I had no difficulty following his scholarly presentation. I was thankful we were sitting near the front of the bus for a change so I could see the timeline he often referred to and had printed out on a standard-size sheet of paper. After disembarking, Hideki employed the critter-hanging-from-a-stick leadership method. His critter of choice was Olaf from the movie Frozen. He said he chose it because Olaf and he looked alike; I strained to pick up the resemblance. 

Our first stop was the Sanjusangen-do Temple which translates as 33-bay hall temple. (We had learned earlier that sanjusan is 3×10+3 in Japanese.) Compared to other dazzling temples and shrines we have visited here, the exterior of this building was relatively modest, especially considering the unique splendor inside. 

Remember that boomerang statue of Kannon that those fisher-dudes in Tokyo drug from the Sumida River and decided to build the Sensoji Temple for in 645 a.d.? Well, Kannon must have been wildly successful granting mercy over the years because in the 12th century, Tairo-no-Kiyomori constructed this temple containing 1001 statues of her likeness. I am not exaggerating, literally 1000 plus 1 statues of Kannon! We entered the hall on one end and as we turned the corner, we were greeted by hundreds and hundreds of life-size golden Kannons. They were situated on risers before us across the narrow width of the hall and extended the entire length of the 120-meter long hall, longer than a football field. Mercy, mercy, mercy.

 

The statures were hand-carved from Japanese cypress, painted with gold leaf, and had subtle differences in expression and accoutrements. BTW, I also learned that Kannon is a well-appreciated nickname for Juichimen-senjusengen Kanzeon. In the front row, guarding the Kannons and her worshippers, were statues of other deities. These were not gold-plated and were carved in a different more detailed style and had glass eyes.  

Gardens at Sanjusansen-do

We continued to Nijo Castle built in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder and first Shogun of the long-reigning Tokugawa Shogunate. The castle is famous for its nightingale floors, designed to detect the footsteps of ninja assassins and warn the residents of invaders. However, we were not able to tour the castle interior. We entered the property through an impressive gate and walked around the grounds viewing the castle exterior and gardens. I was tempted to test my ninja stealth but, because of the nightingale floors, prudence prevailed. Instead, a quick tour, then back on the bus.

From the Nijo-Jo castle, we were deposited in a parking area at Shozan Resort. This was an upscale restaurant area in a pleasant natural setting. We took a path to our restaurant along side a bamboo forest with cryptomeria on the front edge. Our reserved room was surrounded with large glass windows and all the tables were set and ready. Two places for Jane and I were clearly marked vegetarian. We were served thinly sliced bamboo as a substitute for sashimi. After lunch, we browsed through a nice shop before boarding the bus.

Our final stop after lunch was the Golden Pavilion. Officially, the Kinkaku-ji Temple, it was built in 1397 by Yoshimitsu, the third Shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate. Hideki explained that the Japanese consider the entry tickets for the Golden Pavilion lucky. Apparently, Queen vocalist, Freddie Mercury, visited Japan many times and a Golden Pavilion ticket appears on his bulletin board in the film Bohemian Rhapsody. Japanese viewers spotted the flick’s inconspicuous souvenir and a fad commenced. The interior was undergoing a lengthy renovation so again, we were only allowed to walk around the grounds. We did so with thousands of fellow tourist, and because it was raining, thousands of umbrellas. Despite the crowd and rain, the palace topped with a golden phoenix, and scenery were beautiful. We escaped the umbrellaed horde with our eyes intact although I did get spoked in the ear once. We then boarded the bus and, because of traffic, took a different but beautiful route through the mountains back to the Nautica.