Kyoto - Day Two
A view over the Brocade Mirror Pond (Kinkyo-chi)
Following the sand garden, we climbed the slopes of the Higashiyama mountain via this stairway.
My son, Josh and I as we pause in our climb for a photo
This photo does not do it justice, but beyond this couple, the stone stairway continues up and up, winding back and forth.
An array of stones to the left as we continue our walk
The stone stairs blend in with the natural surroundings
A look back at the climb we have made
OK, you really need to get yourself in a Zen state of mind for this video. For three minutes it depicts our unrelenting climb up the stairs with the sounds of the cicadas in the background. Towards the end, you are staring directly down at the steps as they seem to go on forever until the scene lifts and we finally reach the top of the rise and look out at the city.
A panoramic view of Ginkaku-ji with Kyoto in the distance
A closer view of Ginkaku-ji
A view of the city from the path as we continue walking
A minute and a half video of Kyoto
Finished with our walk, we start down to the path to the exit
Off to the side of the path, a dried stream bed.
Just like it took us a long time to ascend, it took us a while to come back down.
We continue our way down...
and down...
and down...
and, yes, still down.
A view under the scaffolding of the Silver Pavilion
And out the 50 meter corridor.
And now we start our half mile walk back to the bus stop.
A three minute video or our walk back, looking at the other tourists and peeking into the various shops.
OK, so we are on our way to our last stop of the day and I was amused by this instructional sign. I suppose these are things you are not suppose to do. The first and last panels are obvious enough, don’t run out in front of the bus and don’t rush for the bus. But what’s the upper right one? Don’t dance in the aisles? I have no idea. And what about the lower left one? It looks OK, but isn’t this suppose to be things NOT to do?
We were exhausted from walking and climbing for the last 7 hours or so. I figured we had walked 4 or 5 miles by now. However, there was no way we could end the day without first seeing the Sanjusangen-do temple.
We did not take many photos here as photography was forbidden inside the temple (and, frankly, we were just plain tired by this point).
The west veranda of the Hall extends for about 390 feet (120 meters)
The Kamakura-style east gate of the temple is a recent addition
Sanjsangen-do was founded in 1164, burned down in 1249 and then rebuilt as it is today in 1266. The name Sanjusangen-do means simply “A hall of thirty-three bays”. The number 33 is derived from the belief that the Buddhist deity, Kannon Bodhisattva, saves mankind by disguising himself as 33 different figures
Josh and me at the north-east corner of the hall
What I would consider the front of the hall, however the entrance for the visitors is off to the right side of the building.
Once again, two different photos in front of the Sanjsangen-do, my daughter Jennifer in 2002 and my son Josh in 2008
To the right is the entrance for visitors to view the inside of the hall
All along one side of the hall are arranged 1000 figures of Kannon Bodhisattva with 500 to either side of the central figure of the Kannon with eleven faces and one thousand arms. In front of the 1000 figures stand the 28 guardian deities of Kannon. In the rear of the hall, along the long passageway leading back to the entrance, a single figure similar to the 1000 stands directly behind the central figure.
Our walk past these figures was thoughtfully meditative. Both Josh and I did our best to quietly reflect on and appreciate the silent majesty of the magnificent setting.
Back at the Kyoto train station, we're ready to rest for a few hours before checking out the Kyoto nightlife.
Click here to move on to our evening in downtown Kyoto:
http://phoenixanime.org/Japan-2008/Downtown-Kyoto