Just this morning, I made my mad dash across Hakone to spend a few minutes with Fuji-san. Now, in Kyoto, I’m presented with a similar scenario. It’s been a long day, but I’m leaving tomorrow and doubt that I’ll be able to fit in the Golden Pavilion before catching my morning train. I jump on a bus and travel to the other side of town, hoping to catch the Golden Pavilion before it closes. On the bus, I meet some Canadians who are on a similar mission and together we spend a tense thirty minutes, talk about our respective Japanese adventures to-date as we squeeze through rush hour traffic towards the Northwestern outskirts of the city .
Had our intention been to arrive at the precise moment that the temple grounds close, we couldn't have timed our arrival at Kinkaku-ji better, but - despite attempts to enter via the exit or to obtain a view from atop a wall - we are denied a glimpse of the golden prize we sought. Disappointed, we shake hands and depart company. I have a chance of seeing the pavilion tomorrow, but my temporary companions are leaving Kyoto sooner so, sadly, will have to go without.
I make my way back across town towards Gion and my hostel. It’s dark by the time I arrive and I fear I might face some difficulty in locating my hotel amid the ubiquitous two-storey, be-lanterned Old Kyoto residences. In the end, I find my way home by happy accident while attempting to find a good spot to photograph the Yaska shrine in the moonlight. I change and then head back out into Gion in search of Kyoto’s culinary highlight: the kaiseki. I find a promising establishment, and seat myself at the bar. The kaiseki is fabulous, comprising of a variety of dishes including smoked duck, eel, several kinds of tofu, some sort of bony fish soup, some excellent sashimi and a lacquered cabinet containing all sorts of goodies, such as rice, tempura, pickles and a kind of vegetable jelly. Washed down with considerable quantities of sake, it’s a meal fit for a shogun and once again I am glad I ordered without trying too hard to decipher the menu. I spend the evening wandering around Gion and the Yasaka shire, admiring the lanterns before returning to the hostel.
I wake early and wander around the nearby Kodai-ji temple grounds and admire the Ryozen Kannon - a huge Buddha-esque Goddess of Mercy build in the 1950s as a memorial to Japanese victims of World War II. Then I turn my thoughts once again to the Golden Pavilion of Kinkaku-ji…
Had our intention been to arrive at the precise moment that the temple grounds close, we couldn't have timed our arrival at Kinkaku-ji better, but - despite attempts to enter via the exit or to obtain a view from atop a wall - we are denied a glimpse of the golden prize we sought. Disappointed, we shake hands and depart company. I have a chance of seeing the pavilion tomorrow, but my temporary companions are leaving Kyoto sooner so, sadly, will have to go without.
I make my way back across town towards Gion and my hostel. It’s dark by the time I arrive and I fear I might face some difficulty in locating my hotel amid the ubiquitous two-storey, be-lanterned Old Kyoto residences. In the end, I find my way home by happy accident while attempting to find a good spot to photograph the Yaska shrine in the moonlight. I change and then head back out into Gion in search of Kyoto’s culinary highlight: the kaiseki. I find a promising establishment, and seat myself at the bar. The kaiseki is fabulous, comprising of a variety of dishes including smoked duck, eel, several kinds of tofu, some sort of bony fish soup, some excellent sashimi and a lacquered cabinet containing all sorts of goodies, such as rice, tempura, pickles and a kind of vegetable jelly. Washed down with considerable quantities of sake, it’s a meal fit for a shogun and once again I am glad I ordered without trying too hard to decipher the menu. I spend the evening wandering around Gion and the Yasaka shire, admiring the lanterns before returning to the hostel.
I wake early and wander around the nearby Kodai-ji temple grounds and admire the Ryozen Kannon - a huge Buddha-esque Goddess of Mercy build in the 1950s as a memorial to Japanese victims of World War II. Then I turn my thoughts once again to the Golden Pavilion of Kinkaku-ji…
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