Kyoto - Part 2

While the first half of our day in Kyoto (see previous post) was fun and educational, we were a bit surprised by how urban the city is. We enjoyed that it felt smaller and had more charm than Tokyo, however we had envisioned Kyoto as being very lush and almost quiet with sites tucked into hillsides and veiled by nature. As it turns out, that's what the afternoon had in store for us.

After lunch, we headed to Ginkakuji Temple. This complex contained meditative green gardens which centered around the Silver Pavilion Temple and its Sea of Silver Sand. Although the builder's idea of covering the main temple building with silver never came to fruition, the surrounding raked sand is said to indeed shimmer in the moonlight. Just outside the temple is Kyoto's famous Philosopher's Path, so named after one of nearby Kyoto University's professors who walked through the area daily. Fortunately for us, the cherry blossom trees were still blooming, transforming the tranquil path into a magical walkway. Of course this also brought huge crowds, but at least there were lots of people around to snap our picture :-). There were also several women in kimonos in this area which provided a real-time reminder of Kyoto's deep traditional roots.

John and Jennifer in front of the Silver Pavilion.

Monks rake this silver sand daily as part of their meditation routine.

Sampling tea with the locals.



Green tea ice cream anyone?



More cherry blossoms on the Philosopher's Path!

Our last stop before boarding the bus for the long drive home was the Heian Jingu Shrine. The largest torii gate in Japan is hard to miss when passing in front of the shrine's entrance but the real gem of this site hides behind its walls. The gardens were purely enchanting and covered with weeping cherry trees. Evidently there are several types of cherry blossom trees and we definitely gained exposure to the weeping kind in the best way possible.

Japan's largest torii gate: 24.2 meters high with a top rail measuring 33.9 meters.

 

 

Weeping cherry blossom trees!

Delighted that we did not hit traffic on our way home, we arrived early at the base and our day trip to Kyoto drew to a close. We know there is a ton more to see in this historic city and the maple leaves are supposedly beautiful in the Fall, so hopefully we can continue our exploration of Kyoto very soon!