Rise and shine! Although we only just got here, today is the last day in Kyoto. We can’t waste it in the hotel! Off we went, back to Kyoto Station to catch the bus to more temples!

First stop, Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion). This is said to be Japan’s most photographed temple, with over 6 million visitors per year. It’s pretty clear why from the below picture. It looks like it was painted on the pond in front of it. And to top it off, it is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. It seems as though we are collecting them on this trip.

But don’t let the expert photography trick you… This is, after all, the most photographed temple in Japan… So there is a TON of people. Plus, we are currently in a heat wave. Temperatures are around 40 °C with 100% humidity. Perfect day to be continuously out in the sun and with a goal of seeing as much of Kyoto as possible, huh?

The rest of the complex is very peaceful (ignoring the multitude of people). I guess this is to be expected as it was originally built as a retirement villa for the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. It was only converted to a Zen temple after his death in 1408. Everything here is so old with so much history! As with all the other temples we have seen, this one has also burned down multiple times, with the current incarnation dating back to 1955. The other noteworthy attractions in the complex are these statues that people throw money at for luck, and celebrate if it lands in the bucket.

And Anmintaky Pond, which is said to never dry up. This is where we ran into a Colombian couple that we talked to for as long as we could all stand the heat. Although they were great company, one can only stand still in this heat for so long!

The final point of interest before leaving the complex is Sekkatei Teahouse. 

And that’s that. Our first temple is complete! The next temple is walking distance-ish.. but not in this heat. We bought a bus pass for a reason. We jumped on and quickly got to Ryōan-ji. Why would anyone want to come here? The real question is, would you not want to see an awesome Japanese rock garden while in Japan? That’s exactly what we got. But you must first walk through the water garden. Although most people come here solely for the rock garden, you should definitely take the time to really look at the water garden. Just like with Kinkaku-ji this complex is also quite peaceful. It also does not have nearly the same crowds as Kinkaku-ji. Importantly, much of this complex is shaded by large trees. Perfect for our current weather!

These trees are all taken care of in, what we think, is a very Japanese way. Instead of cutting “problematic” branches the caretakers of the temples help these branches grow in a different direction, never harming the trees themselves.

Just before arriving to the rock garden, keep your eyes peeled to the left. Here you will see a cool Buddhist statue that a lot of tourists apparently miss (we saw a lot of people walk right by it!). This let me get a good picture with the statue without having to wait for others.

Then we got to the main attraction, the rock garden. Built around the year 1500, it is majestic as ever. So many people are just sitting there staring into the rock garden, it’s incredible. Although many people are contemplating life or other larger than life questions, we had a single goal. The rock garden contains 15 boulders that are expertly placed within the raked lines. The only problem is that it is said that you can only see all 15 at once once you have become enlightened. You know we had to try it out for ourselves from every possible angle. Only we will know if we reached enlightenment of not.

The rock garden sits directly in front of a temple that you should definitely check out. It has old paintings from the times of the samurai and other interesting things. But if it is peaceful nature you are looking for, you can check out the moss garden beside and behind the temple. Obviously much less popular but still very beautiful.

The rest of the complex reminded us of other we have seen with a lot of beautifully maintained nature all around. 

Now what do we do…? We should probably get to the train station to leave for Tokyo… let’s just take the long way… Although we would like to claim that we did this on purpose, the truth is that we didn’t know how to get where we wanted to go by any other way than walking. We were not even sure what street we were aiming for. Not the thing you want to hear in this heat.

So our goal was this little neighbourhood on Yokai Street (Monster Street). As many of you will know, Japan has an incredible history of stories, fables, folklore, and more. Many of these stories contain monsters that are good, bad, or just mischievous. The coolest part about this street for us is that it is not made for tourists. The stores that these monsters stand in front of are local businesses for the local neighbourhood. No crowds. No tourist traps. No souvenir shops. Here we leave you with some of our favourites (out of about 30)!

Alright, now we really have to get going. Time to find the nearest bus route back to our hotel/Kyoto Station! …We say that… and we meant it… but then we just happened to come across this…

By chance we came across the Kyoto HBS Museum and they had a special exhibit, “Japan 1945 – Images from the Trunk: War, Peace and Buddhism”. The exhibit contains a number of photographs and explanations that Joe O’Donnell, a US soldier took of Japan following the atomic bomb. The pictures were so bad that when he returned to the USA he placed all of his negatives into a trunk and locked them away to try to forget what he had seen. He only opened the trunk up 43 years later when current conflicts forced him to revisit the old one he had personally witnessed. The above picture really captures the sheer destruction and sadness that these pictures showed inside the museum. The images are so moving that, from what we read, they have never been allowed to be shown in the USA. There had been plans to show it at the Smithsonian, but it was later cancelled because of opposition to the exhibit. Upon leaving the museum the staff approached us and asked us to take a pin as a gift. It was much appreciated!

Well… a main street is just above the museum… but… there’s another big temple complex right there too… We have time, right?

Without knowing it we stumbled on the Kitano-Tenman-gu Shrine, a Shinto shrine. Apparently this shrine is a popular spot for students wishing to increase their test scores. We have read that students flock to this shrine before exams to rub the cow statues found within the complex.

It was a very large and cool shrine, and we were lucky that we saw another “typical” Japanese scene. The shrine is located on the edge of the Geisha district of Kyoto, and we were lucky enough to see one that was willing to pose for pictures with me. ありがと!

Okay. This time for real. Back to Kyoto Station and off to Tokyo! ありがと!

We had quite a comfortable ride back to Tokyo, and it was super-fast! Just check out the picture below and try to identify anything in the window! Next stop, Tokyo!