Let’s wake up early! (Spoiler: We did not)
We all agreed to get out of the hotel room early to go check out some cool stuff in the area. Unfortunately, we did NOT, but it happens. We ended up getting out of the hotel relatively late and heading toward Kinkakuji. Our first stop was a shrine that worshiped mountain spirits. It was really interesting with a lot of demons everywhere. I’m not entirely sure what the demons represent, but my friends wanted to check it out so we did. These places are sacred temples, and I tried my best to translate what the attendant was saying. After that, we went north to Kinkakuji.
Kinkakuji + Ginkakuji
Kinkakuji and Ginkakuji means “Golden Pavilion Temple” and “Silver Pavilion Temple” respectively. These are pretty famous sites, and they were packed with tourists. The pavilion itself was a sight to behold, as I didn’t do it last year. This year I was determined to get at least ONE bad photo, and boy did I ever get it. It’s me standing in front of the pavilion half blocked by someone else with a tree obscuring the entire thing. I laughed about it and took some good ones as we moved on.
Kyoto Imperial Palace Grounds
The Kyoto Imperial Palace grounds are actually really beautiful and quite expansive. Since the emperor used to live in Kyoto, he would receive other royalty in this large courtyard in the center. There are also some rooms that have beautiful wall decorations and paintings. The first one is the Sakura room, the second being the Crane room, the last being the Tiger room. If you were upgraded to the tiger room, it meant that you were very prestigious, as it was reserved only for the top courtesans and guests.
Kiyomizu-dera
Kiyomizu-dera (I’m not sure if it is supposed to be hyphenated, it feels weird spelling with one?) is a very famous temple in Kyoto with a lot of pavilions. We were there at night and they light the whole thing up at 17:30. The best part was looking very far away at a pavilion while the autumn foliage was lining the walk over to it. It’s a beautiful temple and very pleasant to visit. There was a strength challenge there too and my friend tried it and failed.
Osaka Castle
Last time I was at Osaka Castle I didn’t go inside as I was on the grounds after hours. The lighting was beautiful last time, but the inside holds a lot of interesting stories and relics. Did you know that when Todayami lost to Tokugawa they buried Osaka castle underground to erase his history? I’m sure you didn’t because I didn’t either lol. Japan has a rich and beautiful history. It’s so fun to learn about. I really enjoy the culture and the people.
Closing thoughts
One of the things that actually bothers me is that many of these temples are sacred sites. When I see people being rowdy or rambunctious, it rubs me the wrong way. Imagine if you attended St. Peter’s every Sunday, sometimes on weekdays, and when you leave there is a swath of people who talk loudly, eat food, have screaming kids and wander through your church taking pictures of everything. It’s kind of amazing the Japanese people put up with it. I don’t want to see these places closed off, but I would not be surprised. Especially the smaller shrines. The Daruma-dera was a great place to visit. I took some pictures there but I also have great respect for Daruma-san. I believe anyone who holds respect in their heart should be allowed to visit.
