The Noodle Tour: Japan: Temples, temples, and more temples.

Main hall of Ginkakuji, the Silver Pavillion.

Some locals chatting it up with a monk. Cool robes man.

Went back to the Ramen spot. Seriously, you gotta try this stuff.

The rock garden is supposed to represent an ocean.

There sure are a lot of students roaming around these temples.

Luckily the rain finally left and the sun came out for a visit. Hey how ya doin Sol? We sure missed you. ;) Anyways, today we decided to do a little temple hunting. We started off in northeastern Kyoto at Ginkakuji temple, AKA the Silver Pavillion. Ginkakuji is a zen temple located at the foot of Kyoto's eastern mountains. It was originally built as a retirement villa for Shogun Yoshimasa and later converted to a temple after his death. During his reign, Ginkakuji became a center of art and contemporary culture known as the Higashiyama culture. Higashiyama culture had a broad and far reaching effects on the entire country and the arts of the tea ceremony, flower arranging, and architecture were refined during this period.

After Ginkakuji temple, we followed a narrow stone path, called the Philosophers path, that is lined with dozens of cherry trees, to our next destination. This path is so named because Nishida Kitaro, one of Japan's most famous philosophers, used to practice meditation while walking this well worn route. The next stop on our hunt was Heian Shrine. This shrine was built in honor of the first and last emperors to rule in Kyoto. It was o.k. Not particularly one of my favorite places. But it was free. ;)

Some sort of altar along the Philosopher's Path.

Heian Shrine.

The central courtyard in front of Heian Shrine.

Our next stop was Chion-in Temple. This temple is home of the Jodo sect of Japanese Buddhism. It's a huge temple complex that is fronted by the gigantic Sanmon Gate. I mean seriously, it's impossible to miss this thing. It also has several cemeteries on the grounds.

Sanmon gate.

Buddhist Shrine.

One of the cemeteries.

Some kind of shrine. These women were doing some sort of chanting.

After our visit to Chion-in we headed to Maruyama park for a quick breather and to rest our weary feet. As we were heading out of the park we happened on Yasaka Shrine. It is home of Gion Matsuri, one of Japan's largest festivals. The main shrine is decorated with hundreds of paper lanterns. It must be incredibly beautiful when lit up.

Some locals on the way to Yasaka Shrine. Beautiful Kimono's. Just had to take a picture of them.

The main shrine at Yasaka.

Chantra ringing the bell before she prays.

Some of the paper lanterns.

A miko or priestess. I really dig the outfit. ;)

Finally, we made it to the end of our journey. The last temple we visited is the famous, Kiyomizudera temple, the pure water temple. It is one of the most celebrated temples in Japan and a Unesco World Heritage Site. It is famous for it's large wooden terrace that offers stunning views of Kyoto. Man it's been a long day of walking. I think we walked for almost 9 hours today. Well off to rest my tired feet. Until next time. :)

The Higashiyama district. Leading up to Kiyomizudera. It's a preserved area of Kyoto and retains much of the traditional architecture.

Prayers.

The approach to Kiyomizudera.

This is Kevin. An American we met along the way. He spent the whole day walking around Kyoto with us. Really nice guy. And guess what he's from Fremont. Funny how you meet total strangers while you're traveling, become their best buddy for a day and then go your separate ways.