That, along with the beautiful aesthetic so common in Japanese architecture and art, is why I so enjoy bearing witness to it.
Day One
Kiyomizu-dera
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| At Kiyomizu Temple there are these weighted metal objects, that guests can try to lift. None of us could lift the middle one! |
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| The weather while we were in Kyoto was drizzly at worst, and we did see a good few rainbows (naturally the camera couldn't capture them). |
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| On our way back from Kiyomizu Temple, I happened to spot this little stand. The coffee was roasted quite well and tasted pretty great. I thought it was a little funny that they poured hot water into my cup, to pre-heat it (it was a paper cup). When I asked them what they thought of Portland getting popular, they responded by saying "It's not really that popular yet. We're one of the first to do this." Oh, how tempted I was to tell them how perfectly they'd fit in to Portlander Society. |
Wabiya Korekido Restaurant
After Kiyomizu Temple, we made our way to a wonderful yakitori restaurant called Wabiya Korekido. Didn't take any foodie photos, but the experience was delightful. The host recommended to us some great sake, and each skewer that came out was better than the last. Even the cartilage, which I usually don't eat, was well seasoned and had a good crunch. The chicken-heart skewer was also quite nice. And of course all the regular stuff was amazing.Probably the flagship dish we had there was cured goose meat, set on a perforated tray. Under the tray was a special wood (whose name I neglected to write), to give a fresh smokey flavor.
Quite a few guests were turned away due to not having reservations, but I recommend going through the trouble of making one, if-and-when you come to Kyoto.
After that, we returned to the hotel for the night.
Day Two
The next day, we made our way to the first stop on our list: Fushimi-Inari Shrine. That is a shrine set atop a small mountain, with winding paths all the way up. Built over most of the path are countless torii gates, painted bright red. Finally, there are many checkpoints along the way, with their own shrines and mini torii gates. Really something you have to experience. But let's try:Fushimi-Inari Shrine
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| Glam shot between the many gates. |
Some of us were feeling sickly and not so great, so we didn't make it to the top. Next time!
Pontocho & Kichi Kichi
After getting back to the station, we hopped on a train to head to Pontocho, a district in Kyoto known for its night life. But we weren't going there for Geisha—we were going for Kichi Kichi. |
| Another glam shot, while waiting for our reservation at Kichi Kichi. |
The food was underwhelming, but certainly not bad. Mostly we went there for the show, as it's a bit of a performance art the way the chef serves his omrice. 360-degree video for that exists but I don't yet have access to it.
Koukan Taxi
After lunch we had a Koukan-Taxi waiting for us. Basically it's a private tour guide, and it was great. Besides having a private driver, he got out of the car and took pictures for us, told us about some really interesting history of our site visits, and generally took care of us as we traveled.He took us to:
- Nijo Castle
- Kinkaku Temple
- Daitoku Temple (Actually more of a "Super Temple," comprised of 22 sub-temples)
- Shimogamo Shrine
- Ifuki Restaurant, A Michelin-Starred Restaurant, for Dinner
So let's go through them!
Nijo Castle
This castle was made by Tokugawa Ieyasu at the start of the Tokugawa Shogunate, so he could keep an eye on the emperor in Kyoto. That's why the floors were built to be squeaky (video from my last visit), and the floors thicker than other castles: Tokugawa wanted to make sure he couldn't be assassinated!
Photography and video inside the castle aren't allowed, but here is one of the outside.
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| Caleb & Erin in front of Nijo Castle. |
Kinkaku-Ji
While we didn't have a high-ranking Zen priest to "sneak" us into the secret areas, our tour guide showed us around the grounds and told us all about it. Apparently the gold leafing is done with little two-inch squares of gold, and each are done by the same person. This is to ensure consistent craftsmanship over the entire building.
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| Keiko-san and Ayumi in front of the Golden Pavillion of Rokuon Temple (AKA Kinkaku-ji) |
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| View from a bit up the hill, nearby. |
Daitoku-Ji
We came here in part to burn time, since we still had more time until our reservation at Ifuki, but it was really awesome. The grounds basically consist of 22 temples, each of which has its own style and size.
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| These architectural features are called onigawara and are meant to protect the temple. |
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| At Daitoku Super Temple, we went to one called Kōtō-in which contains one of the most famous tea-ceremony rooms in Japanese history, and which houses more than one Japanese National Treasure. |
Koto-in's Engawa's
Sumi retainer, to mute the rain:
Drops splash on the moss.
Shimogamo Jinja
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| Shimogamo Shrine was closing when we got there, but it was still beautiful. |
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| This stone is mentioned in the Japanese National Anthem: Sazare-Ishi, which is made up of many pebbles, together making one strong stone. |
Ifuki Restaurant
Ifuki used to be a machi-ya, a traditional wooden townhouse that is rapidly disappearing from Japan's architectural landscape. We sat in a washitsu, a Japanese style room complete with tokonoma (alcove made to contain art for presentation to guests).
Every element of the dinner was expertly balanced, and the hostess regularly checked on us to give recommendations and converse with us.
At Ifuki, we ate:
- Pufferfish testicles and raw pufferfish
- Sea Urchin
- Turtle Broth & Sesame-seed Tofu
- Many delicious vegetables
- A whole fish
- Karasumi, sun-dried roe
- Wagyu
- Dassai Sake, along with a few others
But there are no photos. Except for the turtle soup because I never thought I'd eat turtle.
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| Turtle soup broth, and sesame tofu. |
This was truly a couple days where we celebrated Japanese Culture.
Oh, and Portland Coffee.
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