New Year, New Places: Shrines And Temples Abound

After an excellent day in Kyoto, I woke up sore, but full of energy. In just one day I had already seen enough that made me glad I took this trip. This was my last full day in Kyoto, and I was ready to explore more of the beautiful city. 

Today I settled on going to the Kiyomizu-dera, a famous buddhist temple. Like the Fushimi Inari shrine yesterday, this beautiful sight looked like it was going to require a lot of walking. Rather than taking the train, I would need to catch a bus to get closer to the temple. I was glad I ended up taking a bus yesterday since now I was a bit more familiar with the system. 

I slowly got ready for my day, trying to stretch out a little and exercise the fatigue that had formed in my calves. I had another delicious breakfast at the nearby Eggs and Things, and was ready to go. 

Hopping on the bus I rode around 20 minutes to the stop closest to the Kiyomizu-dera. Here in Kyoto, the buses use a flat fee, so regardless of how far you go it’s always the same price, with a few exceptions. This meant I wasn’t constantly counting out my coins every few stops when the fare changed. 

Though, this is when I really noticed a flaw with Japanese buses. Back home, you usually load from the front then shuffle to the back. You can enter from the rear doors if you already have a transit card, but if you needed to buy a ticket you would have to go through the front. When you wanted to get off, you could exit from either the front or the back of the bus, whichever was closer or easiest for you. 

In Japan, you have to enter through the rear doors. In the case of crowded buses sometimes you end up shuffled to the very back of the bus. Now when it’s time to exit said bus, you have to shuffle your way all the way to the front of the bus in order to pay your fee. This means lots of squeezing past strangers in a crowded bus while hoping the bus driver doesn’t leave before you can get off. 

It’s not a critical issue, but was just an interesting comparison between transit here and back home. I think the trains, while complicated, are a bit better than the skytrain back home. When it comes to buses though, I think Vancouver actually has the edge here. 

Getting off at the closest station, I started walking off towards the temple. When I approached the temple, I was surprised the architecture had quite a bit in common with the Fushimi Inari shrine. The Sanjūsangen-dō had felt pretty distinct, so I had somewhat expected the styles to differ more between temples and shrines. 

Granted, this was in no way a bad thing. The style was beautiful, and so different from anything we had back home. Some small spots in Chinatown in Vancouver maybe had some similarities, but nothing on this kind of scale. 

Entering through another gate, you were greeted by another stunning temple. I don’t know enough about architecture or religion to really be able to articulate all the differences between the Kiyomizu-dera temple and the Fushimi Inari Shrine. It felt different certainly, but still familiar.

Some of the same customs seen at the shrine still seemed to be in place here, though I couldn’t say for certain if they were exactly the same. After walking around the gorgeous temple, I found my way to an overlook, being able to take in the building at a great angle set against the backdrop of the city. 

It was a picturesque sight to be sure. So, of course, everyone was trying to get photos and selfies of themselves and the gorgeous scenery. I was no exception, and snapped plenty of photos. 

I wandered around the temple grounds some more, finding smaller pagodas, stone statues, and more. It was a great sight to be sure, though it didn't quite have the same impact as my hatsumōde yesterday. Through no fault of its own to be sure. 

After getting my fill of the sights, I began to wind my way back down to the base of the temple. I was feeling pretty tired after the hike yesterday and plenty of walking already done by early afternoon today. I didn’t want to feel like I missed anything though, so I resolved to explore the area a little further. 

Passing by a few maps of the local area, I remembered there was supposed to be a great photography spot nearby. After a quick rest, I began to head that way, finding plenty of small streets packed with crowds. I had thought the crowds would thin out as people returned to work, but perhaps people had taken a little extra vacation like I had. 

I got a good view of the Yasaka pagoda and tried to snap a few pics. I had also seen another shrine on the map of the area, so I figured what was one more shrine while I was here. I began to rethink this decision when I was faced with two more sets of stairs. 

In the end, I powered through to the top of the stairs. Only to find out I could have simply walked up a sloped street instead. This shrine, in contrast to the other sights I’d seen, was nearly empty. 

There was a larger hill behind the shrine, and paying a cheap entrance fee, I began to look around. It was largely a cemetery with figures from history being laid to rest here. There were some small shrines scattered around.

The stillness was a stark contrast to the crowds found at the bigger shrines and temples. Standing in front of a humble shrine, surrounded by nature, with no one else in sight, was tranquil in ways that are hard to describe.

I was still plenty tired from my excursions, but here I felt myself relax despite this. It was nice to take things in and really let them wash over me without worrying about other people. 

This was also the resting place of Sakamoto Ryōma, a samurai and politician who was quite influential during the Edo period. Of course, I had no clue who he was myself and had to do some research to learn more about him and why he was important. His grave was certainly quite nice, and there were even a few offerings left for him. 

While unexpected, this was a lovely out of the way spot that was quiet, surrounded by nature, but historic all the same. This shrine, the Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku-jinja, was probably the most pleasant little surprise on my trip. It gave such a great contrast to the busier and more popular spots in Kyoto. 

Feeling content that I had explored enough, I started to head back to the hotel. I was in a weird limbo zone where it would take about as long to take transit back to the hotel as it would to walk. Despite my legs growing shaky, I decided to walk back. The city, like much of Japan, is always fun to walk through. 

I went through some tiny side streets before reaching the Gion district. This was the big entertainment district in Kyoto. I passed by shops and stores as I went back to the hotel. Grabbing some snacks on the way, I returned to my room at the hotel, and laid down for a nap. 

When I woke from my nap, I had just one thing on my mind, yakiniku. I had tried every day since arriving in Kyoto to have some yakiniku for a meal. This is a meal where you order raw meat and cook it on a mini grill at your table. It seemed like a fun, tasty experience, and being denied it the past few days I wanted it more than ever. 

The past two days each time I had gone they turned me away, either because it was too late or they had no room for walk-ins. I went to the restaurant well before peak hours, and to my delight they directed me to a table. 

I asked for a recommendation since it was my first time, and they suggested a platter with three different kinds of meat and a side of rice. Once they brought me my prize, they turned on the grill in the center of the table. I couldn’t wait and threw a few small slices on the grill right away. 

This was my first time having yakiniku (literally meaning grilled meat by the way), so I’m sure I made a few mistakes. Apparently, you should give the grill time to heat up so that the meat doesn’t stick to the metal. I definitely lost a few chunks of meat this way. 

I also wasn’t sure how long to really cook things for, so it was lots of trial and error. Despite my lack of expertise, it tasted delicious. I’m not sure what exactly the different meats were, but I believe one was kobe beef, a specialty of a nearby city. Thankfully, my ignorance didn’t impact the taste at all. 

With this being my last night here in Kyoto, I wanted to explore the nightlife a bit more. After a quick stop in at a bar, I ended up at the Music Bar Pop, which was really more of a club. It was another club that has an entrance at ground level with steps leading down. There were lockers on this intermediary floor, with another set of stairs leading to the dance floor. 

Once again, I was far too early. I’ve become a bit more comfortable in Japan, so I danced a little more freely, even if I was the only one grooving. Slowly the bar grew busy, and I made small talk with other patrons when I went out for smoke breaks.

Eventually I stumbled into my own little dance group, having a blast singing and dancing along to the music alongside total strangers. I had a lot more fun at this bar than my time at TK nightclub in Shibuya. 

It might have been the venue, the people, or maybe the fact that I was slowly becoming comfortable being a foreigner here in Japan. Regardless, it was a fantastic night, and I danced until my feet couldn’t take it anymore. 

I found my way back to the hotel, and began to collect my things for checkout tomorrow morning. The more I explored Kyoto, the more I loved it. It was so different from my experience in Tokyo, and in some ways, I had preferred this trip. 

While I was far more stressed in the beginning, having a hotel booked for more than just one night gave me a home base to come back to. It removed a lot of the stress that I had when exploring Tokyo, and gave me a sense of security. 

I had been enjoying this trip so much, I wasn’t ready to go home just yet. I decided to book a three night stay at a hotel in Osaka. Tomorrow, I would pack up and head to another big city, less than an hour away from Kyoto.

After my time at Kyoto, I had high hopes for Osaka, though I knew even less about it than Kyoto. I was riding high after seeing beautiful shrines, temples, and taking in the history of this beautiful city.

Crawling into bed after getting my things more or less organized, I dreamed of what my future travels might hold. Could Osaka measure up to my incredible time here in Kyoto? I was eager to find out!