Sakura and Sweet Incense

*happy sigh* hello all, I have just returned home from the vacation of a lifetime...I spent four-and-a-half days in Kyoto and completely fell inlove with the city.

As I said in my last post I don't want to be spending as much time on the internet, so I will sum up my experience briefly.

On thursday night I arrived in Kyoto with my friend Lynn (after a 7 hour train ride from Kofu, good god!). Our hostel was right near Nijo-jo castle in Kyoto so we decided to explore the inside of the castle right away.

The floors of the castle are called "nightengale floors" because they make chirping sounds as an ancient security measure as you walk along them. The walls throughout the castle were painted with beautiful images of cranes and tigers.

Later that evening after dinner we wandered back to the castle at night to see the grounds all lit up by lanters. Pink sakura trees were also illuminated with perfectly placed lighting. I took a picture of the moon shinning brightly through the branches heavy with blossom. After taking pictures, we watched three ladies give a koto (japanese harp) performance on the side of the castle. The music was hauntingly beautiful. Afterwords two young guys had a jam session using several taiko drums and a japanese flute. The night air was warm and sented with incense.

The next day, on friday, we headed out early from our hostel to see the most famous temple in Kyoto- Kinkaku-ji (aka "the Golden Pavilion"). I read a novel with the same name, by Yukio Mishima, based on the history of the temple.

Originally built in 1397 and covered in real gold leaf, the golden temple was eventually burned to the ground in 1950's by a young monk who was said to have developed a jelous obsession with the beautiful temple.

It was later rebuilt and covered in brilliant new layer of gold leaf.

Unfortunately it was a bit of a cloudy day when we went to see the temple, so we didn't get a chance to see the pavilion sparkling in all its glory and reflecting in the pond below it. Still, it was an awesome sight to behold.

Afterwords I took a traditional tea ceremony at a tea house overlooking the gardens surrounding the pavilion.

We wandered on to Ryoan-ji Temple neary by that is famous for its kare-sansui(dry landscape) zen garden. There are a collection of 15 rocks surrounded by raked sand. They are so placed that there is only one spot as to where you are able to see all rocks visible at the same time. We sat and meditated for a bit and then explored the surrounding moss covered gardens.

Then we took a bus to the western Kyoto outskirts to Ginkaku-ji ("Silver Pavilion"). This temple was built by the grandson of the golden pavilion creator, but he never got around to covering it in silver. Despite the temples lack of glitter it was really lovely all nestled at the base of a wonderful garden trailing up the side of a hill. We wandered beneath tree cloaked pathways, over moss and scattered blossoms.





Then we moved onto the most beautiful walk known as the "Path of Philosophy". The walk followed a canal blanketed on both sides with pink and white sakura trees. This is when I began to feel the first stirrings of the heart that I would later discover was love for this spectacular city of Kyoto.









At the end of the pathway we reached Nanzen-ji temple. At the enterance to it was a majestic, many pillared, wooden gateway. Past it there were winding gardens and a long stone aqueduct (built in the Meiji era). We ended up transversing to the top of this aqueduct and following it high above the ground as it led us in through a quieter forested area.

We were getting tired by this point, but we wanted to see the Kyoto Folk art History Museum that wasn't too far in the city center. So we wandered into the museum and were overwhelmed with all the styles of art that have been prefected in Kyoto - from special means of weaving and dying kimono to laquer wear stained a deep coal black then delicately painted with flowers.

As the sun was getting lower we entered Heian-Jingu temple. The buildings were all a blazing red colour, tall and dispirsed around us like parsimons scattered on the ground. I felt moved to take pictures in unique angles of the lanterns and pilars of the temple around me.

We wandered on and stoped for some chocolate cake and tea before heading back to our hostel.

The next day Lynn and I decided to go to see the most spectacular castle in all of Japan - Himeji. I am sure you have all see images of this castle, bright and white, rising like a crane from the sky. It is listed as a national treasure and a UNESCO world heratage sight. It remains in its original (nonconcreate) format as it was when built in 1580. We took a train from Kyoto station and 1 1/2 hours later arrived at Himeji castle station. They provided free bikes to rent there, so we drove them up the road to the castle on the horizon. It was gorgeous and glowing in the bright spring sun. The grounds were crowded with people coming to see the castle durring the peak of the sakura season. We wandered within the castle grounds and ascended many flights of wooden stairs to get to the uppermost view within the castle. Beautiful.

Oh dear oh dear, here I say I won't write too much and I find myself writing oh so much. But, I can't help myself. I am still trembling with glee now as I type this.

That afternoon I decided to explore a very popular temple as the sun set - Kiyomizu-dera. approaching this temple there is a street lined with many vendors selling everything from hand painted fans to hello kitty in kimono to hang off of your cell phone. As I moved through the throng of people and the sun got lower, i flet explectation rising. Then on the horizon I saw the many buildings of the temple scattered pink and red up the side of a mountain. Immediately I became enchanted. A few lanters had already been lit and gave little bits of warm light up the side of the mountain. I wandered from the great enterance gate, the a beautiful pink pagoda, and finally to a great old wooden viewing platform that gave me a view of all of Kyoto lying billow. As the sun got lower and more lanterns were lit and happy couples difted by hand in hand, and giggling friends dressed in kimono stoped to take a picture together. I was awash in the warmest blissful glow.

Later that evening I met up with a felow JET, Racheal, who I had met on my last snowboarding trip in Nagano we wandered through the modern city core and had a most delcious Nepalese dinner. It was nice having an evening out on the town and seeing how much life there still was bursting forth in such an ancient city.

Oh dear, now I really will condense the remainder of my journey....

I spent two blissful eveningings looking for the mysterious geisha, and several times was rewarded by a site of one hurrying in brilliant blue and red kimono through the streets of gion,







I revelled in the glow of the city lights as the pink sakura reflected in the Kama river,


I ate all I could eat from a revolving sushi restaurant (and even tried eel sushi!),









I climbed a mountain and hung out with wild monkeys,
















I watched a special Maiko (Geisha apprentice) dance complete with singing, flute and sameshan playing,










I wandered through a dark bamboo forest,













I rode a "Romantic Train" ride along the Hozu river on the western edge of Kyoto,







I saw a 1000 golden, life-sized kannon statues lined within the longest wooden building in the world (and had a near-mystical experience when viewing them, finding myself suddenly awash in tears),










and, yes, as it was the season of hanami (drunken cherry blossom viewing) I celebrated with many happy revelers, beneath a HUGE brilliantly illuminated pink sakura tree, surrounded on all sides by small bonfires.













Brilliant. Just absolutely brilliant. From now to the rest of my life Kyoto will hold a special, warm space in my heart. For it is the only city that I have literally fallen in love with. It is all you would expect of it and so much more. It is magical and beautiful, it is ancient and modern, and, in my mind, it will always remain perfect and sweet, scented in icense and sakura.