Too Many Temples, Too Little Time (T_T)

8:30 A.M. This is nothing like last year where we start 9:00 A.M. and later. But after looking at the schedule for the day, I could understand why we started so early.

We head to JR Kyoto Station. It's much more busy than it was last night. Plus the station is much nicer at night with all its lights. We go to the very top of the station to look at the view of Kyoto from above. It gives us a feel on where we are headed for today. So many places to see, so little time to do it in.


First on the list of temples to visit is Toji Temple (東寺). The first thing on my mind is that it's so hot. I'm not used to to this type of temperature. We are so spoiled with air conditioning and trade winds.

According to DK Eyewitness Travel, Toji Temple's actual name is Kyo-o-gokoku-ji. Kukai (Kobo Daishi) introduced the Shingon (True Word) belief to Japan and turned Toji Temple into the headquarters of Shingon Buddhism. The Shingon relied heavily on high philosophical refinement of esoteric doctrine and belief in special charms and mantras.

We have free time to explore around the grounds. Me and Bev first go into the Lecture Hall (Kodo). Must-See in Kyoto says that the lecture hall was built in 825 (rebuilt in the 17th century) as a seminary of Tantric Buddhism. Too bad that pictures were not allowed. I can understand why. Kyoto is the epitome of traditional Japan. To be allowed to take pictures of these historical artifacts would take away from its history and traditions. I respect that. It's just so hard to describe what you see in the hall. You have to see it to believe it yourself. In the Lecture Hall, there are many statues couple stories high, each representing Buddha.

Next is the main hall (Kondo). It is a combination of Japanese, Chinese and Indian styles. Like Morton's Japan: It's History and Culture states, Japan has found a way to borrow ideas from other cultures and reconstruct it as their own. The main hall has less statues to look at. It's not the statues that I don't take notice of but the scent of incense in the air. I didn't notice it in the lecture hall because I was too busy with looking at the statues.

Time to explore the outside scenery. Toji's 5-story pagoda was rebuilt in 1644. Both Must-See in Kyoto and DK Eyewitness Travel say that this 55 meter pagoda is the tallest wooden structure in Japan. According to DK Eyewitness Travel, it has become a symbol of Kyoto. We were not permitted to go into the pagoda, but DK Eyewitness Travel says that there are images of four Buddhas and their followers inside.


Next on the list of places to go is Nijo Castle (二条城). Built in 1611, the complex was created by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and was made his Kyoto residence. Nijo is most known for its unusual ornate interiors and the nightingale floors.

As we head toward the main area of the complex, we see all the ornate decorations at the Karamon gate. You can see the Chinese influence in the decor. The phoenix, dragon, and tiger are all part of Chinese mythology about the four guardians of the land. As I looked at the gate I wondered why there isn't the tortoise. The entrance is more intricate than the Karamon gate. What a way to show off your wealth.

Again, like Toji Temple, we are not allowed to take pictures. It's a great historical experience. It shows that Tokugawa Ieyasu was an ingenious person. To design flooring to make nightingale sounds is a great security precaution. You have to be really stealthy (like a ninja) to not make any sounds on the floor. Also, the placement of rooms is very ingenious. There are different waiting rooms for different people. If you were trusted by the shogun your waiting room was far away from the meeting area, but if you were not trusted, your waiting room was right next to the meeting area. This way the shogun could overhear anything you were plotting against him. As another precaution, any room where the shogun is (meeting room, office, etc.) there is a set of screen doors that have bodyguards waiting to protect the shogun from any attack.


After a short break to eat lunch, we head off to our next destination, Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺, Golden Pavilion). Built by the third Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimitsu in 1397, it was originally used as a retirement villa. Must-See in Kyoto says that the construction of the building is a harmonious combination of three styles (Shinden, Buke, and Chinese Zen).

Must-See in Kyoto also tells a story about a man who was so obsessed with the beauty of Kinkaku-ji that in order to achieve aesthetic perfection of his senses was to see the building in flames. In 1950, a young priest set fire to the building, and reconstruction took place 5 years later. It doesn't look like it ever burned down.




~Yay! I found a poster of Hello Kitty for Kinkaku-ji.









After a short look around the Kinkaku-ji grounds, we head off to our final destination for the day, Ryoan-ji Temple (竜安寺). By the kanji characters, ryoan means peaceful dragon, so this is the peaceful dragon temple. It's amazing how many people, locals and tourists, come here to meditate.

For me, the first thing I had to figure out was if there really were 15 rocks in the garden. I don't know why, I just had to know. Then as I tried to focus on the garden, I couldn't help notice things around the garden. I realized that the garden is well thought out and planned that when you look around it, you notice that the surroundings are not. There was part of a tree hanging over the wall where leaves could fall onto to garden and disorganize the set up. People are so focused on the garden, that they forget that there are others things around that should be focused upon also.

I left early and looked at the rest of the area. Jayson later asked what I had realized from the Zen garden. The one main thing I realized was that I am a very impatient person. Everything has to be done now and it cannot wait. Why am I impatient person is the question to contemplate on. I have no answer for that right now.

The day isn't over yet. We head back to the hotel to get ready to meet the Ritsumeikan students. Only four students show up, well actually five (the fifth was working at the restaurant). All are good friends with each other. They sacrificed their studying time for finals to meet up with us. I was very honored that they would. Ritsumeikan is a very prestigious college in Japan. It was very different from the Meiji Gakuin students. These students spoke English very well not like Meiji Gakuin students. Also they opened up very fast with us. After the dinner, we all headed to a karaoke place.

Although we met them just a couple of hours ago, they are very comfortable to sing and dance in front of us. It's very different than in America who are very self-conscious about what others think of them (how they look, what they do, etc.). Japan is much easier to show your true self. They don't judge much about you. Like we learned last year, there are millions of people in Japan. The chances of meeting up with the same person again is very small. So you do whatever you can to make that meeting memorable.

We have seen so many things and it's only the second day here. Tomorrow is Gion Matsuri!