2010.07.13 Kinkakuji, Ryouan-ji, Toji-ji

Waiting for the bus to Nijo Castle, the shrines for the Gion Matsuri were out on the street, awaiting the day of the parade. Kind of impressive to think that those things have been built and taken apart every year for about 1,000 years. Not to mention that they are pulled down the street by men while there are other people inside them playing music.

The original plan was to visit Nijo Castle, but they were closed on Tuesdays. I wondered if there were any tourists from Kyoto who ended up trying to go to Hanauma Bay on Tuesday (when they are closed), but considering how many guidebooks and free magazines for Japanese tourists, I doubt such a thing happens too often.

New plan was to go to Kinkaku-ji, then Ryouan-ji and finish off the day at Toji-ji. Arriving at Kinkaku-ji, wasn't too bad at the beginning.

Getting this picture took some careful maneuvering and timing between waves of tourists.

As striking an image that Kinkaku-ji is,the swarms of people and fact that it was rebuilt during the earlier half of the 20th century seems to take away from the impact compared to the garden surrounding it.

Then it was a short bus ride past Ritsumeikan to Ryuoan-ji and the famous rock garden.
Apparently, some words don't mean the same when used in a different country?

Kind of amazing to think that these are the stairs for what used to be a Muromachi clan estate over 600 years ago.

Until I figure out how to merge the photos of the real rock garden together, this picture of a miniature replica will have to suffice. Sorry.

Somehow, I don't think it inspires one to clear their mind in the same way.

Kind of mind boggling to see that Toji-ji is right in the middle of the city.

But once inside, that feeling fades rather quickly.

It feels like being taken back in time and you can almost see the people from the past walking around if your imagination is up to it.

One of the representative images of Kyoto is the pagoda at Toji-ji and entry to the public is extremely limited.

Even without being able to take pictures in the two main buildings, Toji-ji was probably the most peaceful and authentic feeling of the temples visited.


Toji-ji may not have anything as visually impressive as a Golden Pavilion or Zen rock garden, but the entire experience was the most calming. Because there weren't hundreds of tourists shuffling around snapping pictures and yakking away might have also helped.

A lot of tourists would get a lot more out of Kyoto by going at a turtle's pace instead of approaching sightseeing with the attitude of a barbarian invader.

Dinner @ a chain izakaya. Nomihoudai (all you can drink) is a nice concept but, when everyone ended up getting a carafe of sake and had to finish it before proceeding, a rough morning was bound to be the end result. I don't remember what happened after some point that night and ended up paying the price the next day.