36 Hours in Kyoto - II

Setting off around 8 a.m., post-breakfast of free coffee, juice, and toast with orange marmalade, we returned to Kyoto’s central station to drop off our packs and board a bus to the Kiyomizu-dera shrine complex in the hills east of the city. The orange-and-green-themed series of structures was established in 798, but reconstructed most recently in 1633. We circled the grounds and observed visitors drinking from the Otowa-no-taki waterfall...sacred waters. Walking out of Kiyomizu-dera, we saw a biker-lookin' couple sporting sweet t-shirts! (Though do true bikers carry parasols?)After heading back down the hill of shop-lined streets, we briefly visited the neighborhood of Gion before bussing to the far northwest edge of town to Kinkaku-ji (The Golden Temple).Originally a shogun’s retirement home, Kinkaku-ji was built in 1397 but was burned down by a monk in the 1950’s—don’t know the full story on that incident. I was glad for a haze-free view of the shining temple, mirrored on the surrounding pond.Turtles seem like such ancient creatures; it was fitting to see them basking in their old gray shells on the rocks surrounding the ponds on the historic grounds of Toji and Kinkaku-ji. Below: bad aim. That's one tiny wish dish, hence the yen carpet.On the walk from Kinkaku-ji to the nearest bus stop, we came across a great little bike shop—lots of rental bikes and a variety of cool merch (Davin bought an Engrish-y shirt that says something about cyclists being fueled by bananas)—and a very awesome name: Maiko Wheelie (maiko are geisha-in-training, and the logo was a kimono-clad lady on a cycle)! We took a bus, then a sweet old-school electric streetcar further west to the main event—or at least most-discussed portion of the itinerary: Arashiyama Monkey Park.We did not take this popular mode of transport...poor guys in the sweltering heat.After entering through a large torii gate and paying a small fee, we hiked a shaded path high up a hill to the big show.The monkeys were uncaged (we saw a few along the trail on the way up), though most of them seemed to be sticking around the summit—probably not so much because of the gorgeous view of Kyoto below (it really was lovely), but because this was where visitors would enter into a cage (a shelter, but really very much like a cage) and feed the monkeys that were outside. A strange reversal, highly entertaining, as the beggars reached out their leathery little digits for offerings of apple slices, orange slices, and nuts.We took some time to visit the rooftop of the amazing Kyoto Station before catching the shinkansen back to Shizuoka. And that was my Kyoto experience. No art museums, no botanical gardens, no staying out all night wilding on the town…but not bad at all for 36 hours.P.S. Did I mention Kyoto was inundated with foreigners? As to be expected in the cultural center of the country, but nevertheless, it was a bit strange, English conversations jumping out at my ears from miles away. When I return to the U.S., I will miss listening to the Japanese that has permeated my days for the past seven months. Not for meaning, since most of it I still can’t understand, but perhaps for the lack of understanding—there is no signified for these signifiers—just pure sound, with its varied tones and inflections, approaching melody to my unstudied ear.

Up next: road-tripping and mountain-climbing adventures!