Super sleepy when we woke up. We had stayed up until about 1am with Greg talking and drinking, so we had only had about 4 or 5 hours of sleep. The Shinkansen smelled funky, but it was fast! Took about two hours to get from Tokyo to Kyoto.
2. Shunko-in Temple
Got to the temple about 12:30p. Got stopped abruptly from going in the wrong area in the temple complex. Oops. Once we found the right place, the temple was awesome. The room we stayed in was absolutely beautiful. It was clean, simple, and well put together. We had our own bathroom and shower which was a nice change from the hostel we stayed in on our first night. The pillows were full of these little plastic beads. I must find one because it was super comfortable. Reverend Taka was very nice and laid back.
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| Brochure for Shunko-in Temple |
By this time I was starving and we got lost in Kyoto trying to find a place to eat. Finally found the 100Y Sushi restaurant which had conveyor belt Sushi. It was confusing as hell and took us about 20-30 minutes to figure out how everything worked. Once we did though, the sushi was on! It was super cheap and super good.
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| Monkey had to get in on the sushi action |
4. Kinka-kuji (Golden Pavilion)
This was really beautiful. It was especially beautiful after being properly fed!
History: Kinkaku (The Golden Pavilion) is a sharidan, a Buddhist hall containing relics of Buddha. It is supposed to enshrine the ashes of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. The pavilion is part of a temple that is formally named Rokuon-ji Temple, but commonly called Kinkaku-ji Temple, or Temple of the Golden Paviliion. Rokuon-ji is a Zen Buddhist temple in the Shokokuji School of the Rinzai Sect. This area was originally the site of a villa called Kitayama-dai and owned by a statesman, Saionji Kintsune. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the 3rd shogun of the Muromachi period, took a liking to the area and acquired it from the Saionji family in 1397. He then built his own villa, which he named Kitayama-den.
The garden and buildings centered on the Golden Pavilion were said to represent the Pure Land of Buddha in this world. The villa also functioned as an official guesthouse, welcoming Emperor Gokomatsu (Father of Zen teacher, Ikkyu) and other members of the nobility. Trade with China prospered during the Muromachi period and the villa reached its height of glory as the heart of what became known as Kitayama Culture. After Yoshimitsu died, in keeping with his will, the villa was converted into a temple by the priest Muso-kokushi, who became the first abbot. The temple's name, Rokuon-ji, was derived from the name Yoshimitsu was given for the next world, Rokuon-in-den.
In 1994, Rokuon-ji Temple was registered as a World Cultural Heritage Site.
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| Ticket to get in |
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| Gold foil on lacquer covers the upper two levels of Kinkaku, and a shining phoenix stands on top of the shingled roof. The first level is built in the shinden style of the 11th century imperial aristocracy; the second level is in buke style of the warrior aristocracy; and the top level is in the Chinese zenshu-butsuden style. Overall, Kinkaku is representative of Muromachi-period architecture. |
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| The pond with the Golden Pavilion, and islets large and small, is the center of the garden. Rocks donated by various provincial lords of the period are placed throughout the garden. As a pond garden designed for strolling, it is typical of Muromachi period. The garden is listed as a National Special Historic Site and Special Place of Scenic Beauty. |
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| The Ryumon Taki (Carp Rock) |
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| That is money that people have thrown down all around the statues |
After walking around the grounds for a while, we checked out a few shops outside the temple area. We were both still really worn out from the night before and lack of sleep so we decided to pick up some champagne and chill out in the Shunko-in Temple. On our way back to the temple grounds, it started to rain like crazy and so we took a little rest inside a wood block gallery. The pieces inside the gallery were really cool and if I could go back in time, I would've purchased one of them. I did get a brochure so maybe next time I'm in Japan I will remember and go back to this shop.
Picked up our champagne, which we barely drank, and hung out in our room for a while. Wandered around the temple complex after it got dark and heard some chanting and gongs and things. It was a beautiful night in Kyoto and definitely really cool to take a peaceful walk with the temple sounds in the background.
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