I slept really well on Thursday night. I was pooped! I woke up fairly early this morning and was ready to start another day. Basically, I picked where I left off from the previous day and continued on the Eastern side of Kyoto.     However, before heading out from the station, I decided to stop and have some breakfast. While eating in the station, a Japanese man asked (in Japanese) if he could sit down beside me. Of course, I had no problem with that, so he did and we started talking (in English). He was telling me about himself and asking about me and so on, but he did say one thing that I found...interesting. He asked if I had a girlfriend and when I said no, he said that I should try to meet someone in Kyoto because Kyoto women are some of the most beautiful in Japan. Then he elaborated by telling me that there were three specific kinds of beautiful women in Kyoto. The first kind are those with small features, more slanted eyelids and small noses. The second kind are those with larger, more expressive eyes, and larger noses. The third were those that looked more of Chinese descent or that they would be from Okinawa. He said that any of them would be good for me. ............... So, I thanked him, wished him luck, and continued on my day.     I took a bus to the Kiyomizu-dera area and then moved along from there.
Before starting my climb up the steep hill to Kiyomizu-dera, I stopped at this temple. I don't know anything about it other than it's name - Entsukyo. It had a really pretty stone bridge over a small stream and was surrounded by changing leaves.
Kiyomizu-dera (Kiyomizu Temple) is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Kyoto. The approach to the temple is this super steep narrow street, lined with all sorts of shops selling ceramics, teapots, tea, sweets, and souvenirs. The temple itself is made up of several buildings. Being built into the hillside, it grants a spectacular view of the city.
A really old bell	The view from the balcony
Zoomed in...	From here you can see one of the balconies literally jutting out from the hillside.
Another view of the balcony
Below the temple is a waterfall, Otawa-no-taki. It is said that the water has therapeutic properties. Because there was a long line of students there waiting for a drink, I decided to pass on the water and just take a few pictures.
You have to wear a yellow cap to wait in line (just kidding)	Some high school students having a drink.
A smaller temple building within the precints
Also contained with the temple is Jishu-jinja (Jishu Shrine). It was packed full of students buying fortunes and trinkets from the shops within. There were a lot of interesting things to see in this shrine.
One of those things involves this cedar tree. Okage-Myojin is a God that is known for answering every prayer, no matter what it is. It is a God usually associated with women. This tree was used for Ushinotoki-mairi, or 2 a.m. visit, where women in the old days would nail straw dolls to the tree and pray to Okage-myojin to put a curse on their enemies.
Another neat thing in this shrine involves this rock. This rock, along with another rock located near the white banner in the background (it is obscured in this picture) are "love stones." The story goes that if you can walk from one stone to the other with your eyes closed, your love wish will be granted. If you can't do it, it will be a long time before your love is realized. Also, if you have someone help you make it across (giving you directions), then you'll be able to acheive your love but will require the help of a friend. It was fun to watch lots of young women walking across the path with their eyes closed, narrowly missing the dozens of people walking back and forth.
This is the other love stone	A small shrine within
This is a view of Chawan-zaka (Teapot Lane), which is the way up to and back from the temple. It's a lively place where you can stop in a shop, have a cup of green tea and sample some sweets (with the hope that you will purchase some of the sweets as souvenirs). The ceramic shops were also amazing.
Instead of walking all the way down Chawan-zaka and going to my next location via the main road, I choose to walk along soem of the side streets on my way to Yasaka-jinja. It was a really beautiful place that lets you get a glimpse old what an older version of Kyoto might have looked like. After about 15 minutes or so, I arrived at Yasaka-jinja (shrine).
This is the story of Yasaka-jinja (from a brochure, simplfied): One night long, long ago, an otherwise obscure man named Somin Shorai invited an unknown traveler to stay in his home, and showed him warm hospitality. "Your decendants will be rescued from various disasters and pestilence, and they will enjoy prosperity," the traveler promised. The traveler was Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the God of Yasaka-jinja. For the past thousand years, people having been coming to Yasaka-Jinja to pray for protection from disaster and for their family's prosperity.
The tied pieces of paper are fortunes	"Yasaka Jinja" means "Shrine of the Eight Hills," which probably refers to the original geography of the site
Located nearby and on the way to my next destination was Maruyama Park. Apparantly, this park is a popular place in the spring for cherry blossom viewing, as it is full of beautiful drooping cherry trees. Until about 300 years ago, this was a deserted place full of nothing more than scrubs and weeds. However, it was decided that it would be turned into a park and the landscaping was designed by a famous garden designer of the time. Nowadays it serves as a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the tourist spots.
This looks like something out of a postcard...	I was interviewed in English by some elementary school students and then they gave me this card.
Just a stone's throw away from Maruyama Park was Chion-In (Temple). Chion-in is the headquarters of the Jodo-Shu sect of Buddhism. It's also the place where the priest Honen taught and eventually fasted to death at. It was a massive temple complex, which contained another Senmon (see the previous day's journal) that led up a massive set of stairs to the temple. Be wary if you are tired of walking...
The Senmon (gate) in front is the largest of its kind in Japan	This is the view from the stairs leading away from the Senmon and towards the Temple
This is a garden in the temple. See the next picture for its explanation.	The explanation
I caught a bus outside Chion-in and headed to Sanjusangen-do Temple. This temple was built in 1164, was later lost in a fire, then rebuilt in 1266. The name of this temple refers to the 33 bays between the pillars of the long narrow building that houses 1001 statues of the 1001 armed Kannon (Buddhist Goddess of Mercy). The largest of the Kannon is located in the middle, with 500 smaller Kannon on each side. This was definitely one of the more unnerving experiences I had in Kyoto. Walking into this temple proceeded as usual, taking your shoes off, walking along an old wooden floor, and then you turn a corner and BOOM! You see what I saw below:
Click on the pictures for a larger version (be warned: it is a large file)
The above picture is scanned from a brochure, as photography was prohibited. The right and left sides are views of the hall from the start and end sides. The middle picture is of the largest Kannon in the middle. If you look closely, you'll see that the Kannon doesn't actually have 1000 arms. Each has 40 arms, which equals 1000 in Budhhist terms because each arms saves 25 worlds (40 x 25 = 1000). In front of the smaller Kannon are guardian statues, also equally creepy. The experience was even more unnerving as I was walking behind four Catholic nuns. I felt that either Buddha or God were going to strike me down at any time.
This is a picture of outside the temple. If you get the opportunity to go to Kyoto and want to be truly overwhelmed by a bunch of wooden statues, be sure to visit this temple.
After my day's excursions, I made my way back to the station. Here is a view from towards the top of the right side of the station. It was ultra-modern looking. You could spend days in this place and still see new things.
Part of the hallway at the very top of the station	Warning sign at the station. The very fact that they have to warn people about skateboarding and such from the top of a HUGE flight of stairs worries me.