For Kyoto Day 2, we finally had a beautiful, sunny day. Still on the chilly side, I was just happy to have some sunshine. We wasted no time getting a jump on the day and set out for one of the most beautiful temples of the entire trip: Kinkakuji. Kinkakuji sounds a lot like Ginkakuji, does't it? Ginkakuji is also known as the Silver Pavilion while Kinkakuji is also known as the Golden Pavilion. Surrounded by a picturesque pond, we really enjoyed our time at this temple. Definitely one of our favorite places in Kyoto!
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| Kinkakuji: The Golden Pavilion |
From Kinkakuji we tackled the Kyoto bus system and saw the Ryoanji Rock Garden, Ninnaji and Daikakuji Temples that were all in the far northwest corner of the city. It didn’t even feel like we were in the city anymore. The rock garden made us laugh. See the picture below. Imagine an outdoor swimming pool that's only about 2 inches deep and filled with little tiny rocks raked in perfectly measured rows and circles around a couple of large rocks. Then add 5-6 positively packed rows of bleachers filled with people sitting and staring at these pebbles. Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed seeing it. The amount of time it must have taken the monks to rake the stones with such precision amazed me, but I didn't need to stay for more than 10 minutes looking at it. When we first arrived, we couldn't find anywhere to sit. We stood for a few minutes and then took the seats of a couple as they left. We probably sat there for about 10 minutes more amused by all of the people than by the rocks. The people around us sat in absolute silence. What mesmerized them about this place? How did these rocks inspire a contemplative or meditative state? I'm sorry to say that we really found the whole thing incredibly amusing. Without being overly rude, we sat quietly giggling to each other about how little understood about the significance of this place. By the time we left, the only other pair to leave was the couple that gave us their seats. No one else got up or even looked like they were going to move. To this day, I still don't get the allure.
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| Ryoanji Rock Garden |
I highly recommend the Ninnaji Temple. The large complex had multiple buildings with furnished rooms that really gave you a good example of ancient Japanese living. Most of the other temples only allow visitors to view the shrines for prayers, but at the Ninnaji Temple we explored from building to building across wooden platforms...in our socks of course.
After visiting our last temple and taking off our shoes for the um-teenth time, we finally make our way back to Kyoto Station around 3pm. We hadn't eaten lunch yet and survived the day so far on some snacks I had in my purse. My husband took advantage of this opportunity to try the Octo-balls we'd been seeing everywhere. Why are they called Octo-balls? Because they give you 8? If you look at the picture below, you'll notice there are only 6. Hmm, why else would they be called Octo-balls? Maybe the pictures below will help you figure it out.
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| Fried Octo-balls! |
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| Sign above the Octo-balls stand! |
Why yes friends, you have probably correctly deduced that the Octo-balls are, in fact, made from octopus. I don't know if I've mentioned it yet so far in my blog series, that I am probably one of the worlds pickiest eaters. My parents still tease me that when I was a kid, I would only eat Campbell's chicken noodle soup. I like to think I've come a long way since my chicken noodle soup days, but fried octopus balls? I'm sorry. I'm still WAY too picky (or perhaps timid) to try those. Later in the trip when my husband ordered this delicious Japanese seafood pancake, you could even see the octopus tentacles. Eeeek! That was just too much for me! I am definitely not a brave travel eater.
After our unique dining adventure, we went for a walk in "downtown" Kyoto to find our Ryokan for the night before schelping our bags all over the city like we did when we first arrived. Ryokans are the Japanese version of a bed and breakfast with extra finesse. In addition to a place to sleep for the night with breakfast the next morning, most Ryokans include a traditional Japanese dining experience and access to an onsen or bath house. You can read my full review of Ohanabo on Trip Advisor here, but this place was incredible! We specifically chose it because it was within walking distance of Kyoto Station. They had different types of rooms available including ones with and without private bathrooms. We booked a room with a private bath but in hindsight, it wasn't necessary. The onsen at Ohanabo was immaculately clean and very private.
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| Ohanabo Ryokan - Kyoto |
I'm glad we took a walk to find our Ryokan before going straight there with our bags. We found the street easily enough, and I recognized the exterior from pictures on their website. Once we got there, they had a very small sign confirming that we found it. Across the street from Ohanabo was another temple that we hadn't seen or heard too much about. The exterior was absolutely enormous, so big that I couldn't even capture the entire structure in a single photograph frame. I took two pictures of each half and put them together in my photo album. This temple (who's name I sadly never wrote down) was badly damaged in the 2011 earthquake. Scaffolding coated the interior and you could scarcely see anything other than a shell of the structure.
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| Temple undergoing repairs. |
After dropping some yen in the restoration fund, we collected our bags from our smokey hotel and checked in at the Ohanabo Ryokan. What an incredible experience. We enjoyed a traditional Japanese dining and sleeping experience...on the floor. Our evening began by donning authentic Japanese clothing, pre-dinner green tea followed by a scrumptious fare of classic Japanese cuisine.
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| Enjoying some green tea before dinner. |
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| Traditional Japanese dinner on the floor |
After dinner, they cleared the table and chairs and set up fluffy floor mattresses, down feather quilts, and the most bizarre pillows. Instead of pillows that we're used to in the United States that are filled with stuffing of some sort, little beads filled these pillows. My husband and I were both skeptical about the type of night sleep that we would have, but we slept very comfortably. I don't know that I would want to spend multiple nights sleeping on the floor, but the experience for one night was perfect.
In the morning, we ate a traditional Japanese breakfast of smoked salmon, cooked tofu, salad, cooked egg squares, little cakes, miso soup, assorted pickled vegetables, tea, and steamed rice downstairs in their communal dining rooms. We opted not to wear our Japanese garb in the morning and noticed that no one else in the dining room wore them either. About half way into our breakfast, another western couple entered the room wearing the Japanese clothes and suddenly looked embarrassed when they saw no one else wearing them. Kudos to them, however, for sticking it out.
After breakfast, we collected our belongings, checked out, and headed to Kyoto Station to catch the Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka. Instead of using our tickets, we caught an earlier train. On the Shinkansen, they have rail cars dedicated to passengers with specific tickets. They also have rail cars for untimed tickets with seats that are first come first served. We easily got seats in the open car, and got to Osaka an hour earlier than we planned.
Look for my next blog about our days in Osaka and Nara. Click HERE to keep reading.
Thanks for reading!
- Foxy the Traveler
