Kyoto was the capital of Japan for around 1000 years. As such, it had a lot of temples, shrines, and palaces built over that time. You basically can't walk around Kyoto without accidentally stepping on a UNESCO world heritage site every once in a while.
Kyomizu-dera is known for it's giant temple on the side of a mountain. It has a great view of Kyoto, as well as this little Pagoda sticking its head through the trees:
Little Pagoda
Ryoan-ji is a temple complex with beautiful gardens, and home to one of the most famous and beautiful rock gardens in Kyoto. There are 15 rocks in the garden, but it is said that only 14 are visible from any angle. Naoki and I, took a look around, and found an angle were we could see all 15. Take that, ancient legend!
The temple of the Golden Pavilion has a. . . . Golden Pavilion. It is very beautiful reflected on the lake. The temple was once burned down by a monk over some argument, then had to be rebuilt. Monks.
It was just our luck that the Gion Matsuri festival was held when we were in Kyoto. This festival dates back to the year 869 when the emperor decided the town needed a purification ritual to get rid of the plague there. It must have worked because they keep partying every year, and it has become one of the most popular festivals in Japan. The night before the big parade, the local neighborhoods and villages show off their floats in the street with all kinds of lights, street food, drinking, and music. This particular night of the 16th, is known as Yoiyama, which roughly translates to "Yo Mama."
Sondra modeling a float
The day after Yoiyama is when the big parade happens. Sondra, Naoki, and I, bought kimonos at the used kimono shop known as "Harajuku Chicago," and wore them to the parade. We were disappointed to see, even though there were a lot the day before, the local population did not wawear kimonos during the parade.
Naoki and I show off some skin.
No comments:
Post a Comment