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| Kinkaku-ji - Buddhist Temple |
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Built 1387 rebuilt in 1955
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We grabbed a quick breakfast at the coffee shop across from our hotel. Love the location: buses, trains, food, shopping and the beautiful Kyoto Station outside our window. Surprisingly it is not even noisy.Then we headed off to see the Golden Pavilion by bus. Very crowded bus so I stood all the way. You get on the bus from the back and get off at the front paying the driver exact change and he thanks everyone individually!
The Pavilion:
Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺?, lit. "Temple of the Golden Pavilion") was very crowded with a lot of field trips, students of all ages.Great sky and reflection in the water. We walked all through the gardens enjoying all angles of the Pavilion. Talked with a teacher of some very polite 5th graders. Mark found the most delicious iced peach juice and Jenny bought some wasabi peanuts. Yum.
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5th Grade Field Trip
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Reflection of Golden Pavilion
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Then we walked on to the Rioanji Temple and the famous rock garden. Met a young flight attendant Yoko who helped us get to the Temple. We stopped along the way for delicious waffles and salad etc. Jason is not too thrilled about the temples and gardens, but generously went along with me. He has been an awesome guide to get us where we want to go.
Rioanji was very meditative and reverent and different from the temples we have visited so far. We took off our shoes and sat along the steps with the other visitors. We walked through the gardens and around the pond. The iris were blooming around the water and wisteria was blooming along the path with azaleas everywhere. We found the mysterious JR bus and rode it back to Kyoto.
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Rioanji Temple meditation
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Rioanji wisteria - Jenny and April
Richard and I decided we needed to do laundry, April was ready for a solo walk so we all split up. We found the coin laundry and Richard generously sat with it while I explored the massive temple across the street called the Nishi Hongwanji - another World Heritage Site. This tree may have been the most glorious part of the walk.
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Huge old tree in temple area
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Nishi Hongwanji Temple entrance
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| temizuya - for washing hands and mouth |
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Nishi Hongwanji - World Heritage Site
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