Day 10 - Kyoto

 My last full day in Kyoto was another amazing day of visiting beautiful temples and shrines. At the end of this post are a couple of typical tourist photos. I would like to mention some of the small details that I saw in just one day. Sometimes the little things bring a place to life. On the way from my hotel to my brother-in-law's home, there is a small corner business. He explained that tofu is made there. It is also the home of the proprietor. The residential streets are extremely narrow by American standards and can have electric poles and other posts in the way so you have to pay attention.

Buildings, especially Shinto shrines, will have decorations with  chrysanthemums, the symbol of the Emperor. There are so many different styles that I will need to do some research to see if that is an indication of the time period. This is a metal covering on the end of a beam.



On temple grounds there are usually many small statues. The devout will dress them as protection against the elements. Even in summer, you can see the scarf this bronze cow wore last winter. The particular temple seemed dedicated to cows given the statuary.

Worshipers will chant, bow, clap their hands twice and ring a bell as part of their prayers. The truly devout are the older generation while students and younger people will go to pray out of tradition or before a big exam - why take any chances?




This monk is removing the colored papers that were part of a festival in August. It is laborious work and he approached it with a rhythm and purpose.




The beautiful gardens do not happen by chance. They take many years of careful planning and execution. The work is done by hand, each blade of grass carefully sculpted. Branches are gently coaxed, never forced, into position with natural material used so unless you look, you may miss the scaffolding that creates the layered trees.

Most of the places that I visited had many tourists. It was fascinating to see how people visiting for reasons other than a selfie would act. Most of the time it did not seem right to photograph someone praying. At the Rock Garden of the Ryoanji Goryonoshitacho, I noticed a westerner who was mediating around the corner from all the tourists. She kept the same position for over half a hour.


Lunch was at what I can only describe as Japanese fast food. This sushi restaurant has a conveyor that brings various plates past your table. When you see something that you like, just lift the cover and take the plate. The touch screen allows you to place a special order which is delivered to your table via the upper track. There is a slot to place your used plates and after every five plates a video is played which could result in winning a small prize.


Many of the buildings have thatched roofs. Because some of the smaller buildings were a single story, I could see how the roof was constructed. While this is not exclusive to the Japanese, it was very different from anything I have seen up close.The first layer is vertical slats over which the actual thatch is placed. It amazes me that there is not an issue with leaking but since the method has been used for centuries, it must work.

At home you would never get three meters away from a crane. In Japan they are used to having many people around and not being disturbed. This fellow was looking to reduce the koi population in the moat around the Byodoin temple. Also on the temple grounds was a large bell that is rung by pulling a long timber back and letting it swing to strike the bell. This makes the ringing a slow affair since every time the timber must be pulled back and released.

 Every though it was outside a store, this face is used to bring good fortune to an endeavor. The first eye is painted or drawn at the start and the second eye is only put on once you have been successful. I am thinking this might be a good tool to bring back to work.





Okay, it is time for the obligatory tourist photos.  This is Kinkaku-ji temple. It is a beautiful place and often seen in photographs after the first snowfall. When you visit, there is a circuit to follow that takes you one way through the grounds. It works well and keeps things going once you realize how many buses are parked outside.

The Byodoin temple appears on the ten yen coin. It is a on the outskirts of Kyoto so there are not many tourist there. We went by car, happily enjoying the air conditioning after a day on bicycles. At several of the sites you would see visitors in traditional clothing.