Day 7: Kyoto – city of temples, shrines and tourists

The elusive Mt Fuji

It was an early start for our day trip to Kyoto.  We were on the train to Tokyo station by a little after 5:30am arriving in plenty of time to find our Shinkansen.  It was our first really sunny day.  There was barely a skerrick of cloud in the sky so we held out hope that we might see Mt Fuji on our way to Kyoto.  We were not to be disappointed. The perfect cone was visible quite early on our journey once a few high rises disappeared.  It is so like Mt Taranaki only larger! 

Statues beside a temple

We travelled about 512 kilometres and while we were speeding along quickly, what became apparent was how crowded the place was compared to New Zealand.  NZ has vast areas of open farmland without a village or town nearby but this is  not  the case in Japan - at least not the part we went through.  While there is farmland it seems to be small holdings only. 

The trip took 2 hours 40 minutes as promised.  The train left and arrived on time, precisely.  Where else in the world do they do that?  It was a smooth, fuss free journey. 

Punting Japanese style

At Kyoto we found a very helpful person at the Information office who provided us with maps and   Someone had told me about the Walk of the Philosophers so we got directions for that.  Bev had also seen a picture of Bamboo Avenue and wanted to go there.  It also included a UNESCO heritage Buddhist Temple, Tenryu-ji, which was a major attraction. 

directions to the various temples and shrines.

It was clearly a popular destination as the train was full to almost overflowing.  It was a JR train so we were able to use our existing pass on it  and also found we could also use the same subway card (PASMO) as in Tokyo.

Tenryu-ji Temple and garden

Tenryu-ji Temple is a large complex with gardens and a restaurant.  A river flows slowly past it with the equivalent of punting occurring on it.  In the bright sunny conditions it looked wonderful and if we had had time I think we might have even done something like that. On hill on the other side of the river was the Arashiyama Monkey Park (again something we did not have time to visit).

Garden and pond Tenryu-ji

We found out that there was a Zen Buddhist Vegetarian Restaurant at the temple complex.  Having experienced the wonderful food at a couple of other temples, we decided to try it out.  We paid an entry fee and thought it included two food options in the gardens (or in the restaurant) but after a long but slow walk around the lovely gardens it became apparent that what we had paid for was for entry to the garden only.

We decided that we would go to the restaurant and were very pleased we did.  In such restaurants there it is a set menu but I am glad as it took the decision making out of our hands and we could just enjoy the delights brought to us.  The food was simple but exquisitely prepared and tasty.  It was a bit of guesswork to know what we were eating but all of it was wonderful and we polished the lot off.

Bamboo forest

Bamboo Avenue was very close to the temple and it was here that the throng of tourists was really apparent.  A confined space meant it was like a river of people.  It was so congested that they had created another path just for the rickshaws.  It would have been very beautiful before the tourists found it. 

A torrent of tourists

From there we took the subway to part of town where the Philosophers Walk was situated.  We found where to go without too much trouble much to my surprise.  The only thing we didn’t find was the subway from the train to the other side of the road, which meant going across a couple of pedestrian crossings.  The first crossing worked well, but the next one had cars driving through it even though there was a green light for pedestrians.  A moment or two of anxiety ensued as it was not clear whether the cars would stop.  This was the only time that we experienced non-compliant behaviour on the part of the Japanese (or road rules that we weren’t aware of).

Posing for a photo - enough to make one smile

It was a lovely walk made more so because there were only a few tourists.  The area had a number of temples but like the Tenryu-ji Temple they all seemed to charge for entry.  I   We stopped for a drink there and enjoyed the warmth and fading sun in a very peaceful place. 

guess it is a way to pay for upkeep. The walk was very pleasant and we ended up at little place called the Philosophers Café which was run by a young Frenchman.

A nice place for a very fat cat

It was then time to return to Kyoto Station.  I had figured out the way to go and before we knew it (apart from a moment of uncertainty about the direction) we were back at the right station and departure point. It had also been our intention to go the food market in the centre of the city, but because time was limited and it was too far away, we decided not to brave it.

The Shinkansen arrived on time and in a flash (well actually 2h40m precisely) we were back at Tokyo Station.

We were stunned to find that the trains at 9pm were still full and the stations (Tokyo and Shinkuju) were also packed with people. Perhaps it was because it was a Friday night and all the shops were still open. Or it is where people socialise given houses are very small.

Two very tired people tumbled into bed and were asleep almost immediately.  

On the philosophers walk

 

A quiet time over an iced coffee

The Walk of the Philosophers