The Condrys in Tokyo: Kyoto

I always love to visit Kyoto. Last time we were there with the kids it rained non-stop for days and I am talking torrential downpour. This time we got lucky. Each day was nicer than the last and we got to see a lot of Fall color. Mainly we did the Temple and Shrine circuit, but also checked out of few new places we thought the kids would enjoy.

Kyoto Tower

I am re-reading Shogun and so it was very fun and interesting to check out Nijo castle for the fist time. Nijo was built by Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Edo Shogunate in 1603. It is notable for the "nightengale floors." The floorboards throughout the castle squeek as you walk and it sounds like birds tweeting. This was to warn the rightfully paranoid Shogun of intruders.

Nijo Castle

the main gate

one of barrier walls overlooking inner garderns

view from castle wall looking into castle complex with Kyoto mountains in background

After the castle we headed to Kiyomizu Dera Temple. This temple was built over 1,000 years ago and reconstructed in 1633. To get to the temple you walk along "Teapot Lane" lined with handicrafts, sweets and small gift shops. The boys couldn't resist fresh creampuffs while I ate so many samples of this soft wonton-like sweet stuffed with cheasnut filling that Ian finally had to purchase a large box.

a little garden along the way

quaint shopping-right up my alley

Entering the Temple grounds.

Large West Gate

three tiered pagoda

spot to purify before stepping into Temple

viewing the foliage from the temple

as you can see we were not alone in our pursuit of beauty

Enjoying amazake, a warm fermented rice drink served with grated fresh ginger. The boys stuck to ginger ales.

Descending back to Gion District as night falls.

Fortunes are very popular here, especially at temples. Here you get a lollipop and fortune.

Kyoto at night

We wandered around looking for dinner options. As it was getting a little chilly so we decided on an all-you-can eat Suki-Yaki place since we have never tried it. Suki-Yaki is grilled meat and veggies with a warm, sweet soy-based sauce poured over it so that it turns into a soup-based dish. The interesting thing was that the English menu said all-you-can eat was limited to extra rice and veggies while the Japanese menu said meat was included. Go, my Kanji reading husband, go! All I can say is that the "ethnic profiling" was spot on. They knew what they were talking about when they tried to limit the foreigners from eating too much meat. Once we found out the beef was "unlimited" let's just say that the boys did not leave hungry.

grilling round one of meat

our waitress helping us prepare the meal and pouring the sauce

The next day we checked out the Samarai Movie Set Museum. This place is known as the Hollywood of Japan. Over 200 samarai movies and TV shows are made here each year. It is like an old West town set for samarai and ninja. We didn't see any actors walking around, but did see a cool ninja show and a great special effects show on a real sound stage.

Ninja show

lots of actions, flips, and stunts

the bad guy loved doing this with his hair

posing with Alec at intermission

walking through the wild west-like sets

the good guy in a show we saw

backstreet set

sea monster for movies

this was a mechanical Ninja, but he really looked real

Then it was off to explore our favorite temples. Roanji Temple was originally an aristocrat's villa during the Heian Period and converted to a Zen Temple in 1450. It has my favorite rock garden in all of Japan. It is arranged in the kare-sansui (dry landscape) style. It is a rectangular plot of pebbles with 15 rocks laid out in small groups on patches of moss. One crazy feature of the design is that one rock is always hidden from any vantage point. The monks keep the pebbles in a perfectly raked pattern as part of their zen exercises. The garden is on the ten yen coin.

autumn reflected on the pond entering the temple grounds

This temple also has a famous little fountain or tsukubai that is the basis for the five yen coin in Japan.

Here is an interesting explanation of meaning of this special one:

A tsukubai, a stone fountain that can usually be found in Buddhist temples where water is poured from a bamboo cane. The funny thing about the tsukubai in Ryoan-ji is that it has four characters chiseled that mean nothing on their own but if they are combined with the big square in the middle (a square is the kanji for mouth) all of them mean something; and all of them together can be read as a poem! This is the diagram of the fountain; the characters don’t mean anything on their own unless you combine them with the square, which is the hole where the water is poured.

The meaning of the four characters when combined with the square (notice that all of them are placed in the correct way to fit properly) is:

吾 (ware): I
唯 (tada): only
足 (taru): enough, satisfied, a lot, plenty
知 (shiru): know

The poem translation would be something like “Only with what someone knows it is enough”. One of the fundamental teachings of Buddhism is that the material possessions are worthless, with what someone knows it is enough, nothing else is needed to be happy.

Jackson's picture of the fountain

After Roanji, we made a mad dash to see Ginkakuli Temple before closing. It is known as the Golden Pavilion. We were the last viewers which was lovely and peaceful. Ian said when he had gone with his mom and Nancy it was body-to-body viewing.

Gingakuji Temple at sunset

The following day we hit one last temple, Kingakuji, the Silver Pavilion, built by the grandson of the shogun who built the Golden Pavilion. Jackson asked if his grandson then built the Nickel Pavilion in true pop-pop's style. Unfortunately the grandson ran out of money before he could finish and the silver never got added to the facade.

ladies in kimono preparing for a day of tea ceremony

temple garden

taking pictures of each other

The Silver Pavilion

Our final adventure in Kyoto was to walk the one mile Philosopher's Path or Philosopher's Walk (tetsugaku-no-michi). The name of the path refers to the philosopher Nishida Kitaro (1870-1945), the founder of the so-called "Kyoto School of Philosophy", who would often walk along this pleasant route. We have done this walk with my parents in the Spring with the cherry blossom in full bloom, but had never rambled along it during the fall.