Day 26 – October 13 – Osaka – Kyoto

Today I woke up with just the hint of a hangover. It was not that bad, probably thanks to the fact that we stuck mainly to sake. Keeping it to one type of liquor is always helpful, I find. I packed it up, got my backpack ready, and headed to the Shinkansen to take a really quick train ride to Kyoto. Kyoto, as Sadachika commented, is to Osaka as Pasadena is to Los Angeles. In other words, really really close. It was only about 25 minutes away on the fast train.

I found Kyoto to be absolutely gorgeous. It is the old capital of Japan, where the Emperors were for hundreds and hundreds of years. The temples and shrines are older, more elaborate, and better preserved than elsewhere in Japan, thanks to minimal damage during World War II. I spent the first part of the day heading East across the river, to the older shrines up on the hill of the city. I asked the concierge which direction to the shrines and if it was walkable. She said that she would not really consider it herself, but walking would be possible. It would take, I don’t know, maybe 45 minutes? I told her I could handle it. Across from the hotel was a convenience store where I bought a bottle of water and a Snickers bar, you know, the candy bar now trying to be marketed as an energy bar in the US because it has peanuts in it. How stupid do they think we are? It is a candy bar, and I got it because I want candy.

I started walking up the hill, and about 15 minutes up, a large Buddha statue rises to my left. It was MASSIVE! Although it was not close to my current position, I made a mental note to visit it later. I kept trudging up the hill when I saw a very peculiar sight. A very skinny Japanese guy, in a weird bikeshorts-spandex-lederhosen hybrid was running down the hill holding onto the front of a carriage. This carriage was the sort that would usually be hitched to one or two horses. It was carrying two very large people who were giggling uncontrollably. He was using his hands to make sure the carriage would not fall over, but he was not adding to its momentum at all. He was running just fast enough not to be plowed over by the damn thing as it headed downhill at rapidly increasing speeds. At the bottom, one of his friends was waiting to help slow it down as it hit the flat road. Once the rather Rubenesque passengers disembarked, two of the runners pushed it back up the hill. What a random idea. I think the appeal to most people is that if your runner does not run fast enough, he gets mowed down and you, the passenger, go flipping backwards. Fun!

I kept on up the hill to the fantastic site of the hillside Kiyomizu temple. The first thing you get to is the tourist street leading up to the temple which is filled with souvenir and food stands. Armed with water and a Snickers, I walked up to the temple which starts with a beautiful red pagoda perched on a pedestal flanked by small matching bell pagodas. The whole view is quite exquisite when you look down at the city of Kyoto below, blanketed by dense trees in various shades of green. Although it was a cloudy day, rays of sunshine burst through in a handful of places, spotlighting the trees below in an ethereal glow. The whole scene was gorgeous and, if I were a pilgrim visiting the site a thousand years ago, would fill me with a profound sense of spirituality. I continued to walk around the shrine, savoring the smells of incense that hung in the air like perfume. Down below the main site was a water fountain where people were lining up with sticks ending with cups to catch that water and drink it. This water was flowing from the shrine and was considered holy water. I went ahead and drank, as well, saying a short prayer for my digestive track to remain strong and healthy. I treated myself to a honey and vanilla ice-cream, very yummy.

Once I left I passed by a five-tier pagoda, which was closed today, but stunning, nonetheless. I then walked to the large Buddha statue. It was quite striking with the sun hitting it in the late afternoon, turning it into a sandy-pink color. It adjoined another shrine which was built in the 1700s by a noble family. The complex was beautiful, laid out very simply with majestic gardens running across a lake and up a hill wooded with bamboo. The colors in the gardens were a myriad of reds, yellows, oranges and greens, displaying the best Autumn foliage I have seen outside of New Hampshire. The camera does not capture the extent of the colors against the darkening skies. I found myself sitting at the top of the hill, listening to the deep tones of the bells being struck below me. The bells exuded a deep bass sound which reverberated deep inside my chest, shaking me. It was fantastic. Below and to the left was a well-manicured bamboo forest where shafts of dwindling afternoon light shone through clear and strong. The whole scene was reflected in the mirror-like pond next to the temples below me. I felt completely and utterly relaxed.

From there I walked down through a large municipal park called Maruyama Park, complete with rivers and rock waterfalls. I just walked slowly through, enjoying myself as it started to get dark. The area was full of small temples and shrines, and as it became progressively darker, the lamps surrounding all the sites lit up. The ambience was surreal. It had the feel of a carnival or fair with the bright red buildings and swinging lanterns, but the respectful quiet and reverence of a religious building. I was in awe of the entire place. Kyoto is a very special place.