nothing to prove

temple treks

A few days later and I was back with my parents. It was also my last trip down to Southern Honshu before I head home. Since it was my parents first time to the region and my last the trip was packed with things to do. I arrived via the overnight bus into Kyoto at around six in the morning and checked myself into the hotel. In the process I accidentally woke up my parents but we had a long day so it was good get the head start. The first place we went together was Hiroshima. For those of you who skipped history throughout your schooling years, it is where the first atomic bomb was dropped during World War II. After reading through some of the materials there, I found out that Niigata was one of the cities chosen as a potential bomb site, which was a little eerie.



After spending all morning in the Peace Park and museum we headed to a small garden in Hiroshima called Shukkien. I had never been there before but it was amazingly serene and beautiful. We grabbed a quick lunch before taking the train and ferry to nearby Miyajima Island. There is a famous torii gate, a prominent symbol in Shintoism, along with Itsukushima Shrine, known as the floating shrine. Last time I visited the tide had been in so the shrine appeared to be floating. However, this time the shrine felt a little barren with the tide out. That still did not take away from the beauty of either the shrine or the torii gate. On our way back to Kyoto from a long day, my friend April emailed me so we could meet up in Kobe. The city seems like a cool place but it never really impresses me when I go there. We went to see some jazz and get a bite to eat only to find that they were done playing by the time we got there. Instead we got some dinner at an okonomiyaki restaurant and caught the last train to Kyoto.



The next morning was early again but this time we were off to Nara, the land of deer. First we went to the massive Todaiji Shrine to see one of the three biggest buddha's in all of Japan. Luckily we beat the rush of tourists and had a relatively peaceful stroll through the park and shrine. Inside the shrine is a pillar with a hole that people climb through for good luck. Naturally my mom and I tried it. Some high school kid saw me doing it so he helped me through, which was nice because getting stuck wouldn't have been very much fun. Afterwards it was to Kasuga Shrine which is famous for its abundance of stone lanterns. We also got some fortunes from the shrine which all turned out to be very good so we kept them.



For the afternoon it was back to Kyoto. To start off we headed to Ginkakuji, or Silver Pavillion. Apparently they were supposed to leaf the main building in silver but never quite got around to it. However, the surrounding garden was gorgeous and more the highlight of the shrine. Sadly it was pretty crowded and we had a couple more places to go so we didn't stay very long. Next we went to Sanjusangendo, which houses 1001 Buddhist statues. It was the great surprise of the trip because I had never been there and just happened to hear about it. Sadly we couldn't take pictures of the statues but it was amazing. Finally we headed to Kiyomizudera, translated into the temple of pure water. Once there my parents both walked safely between the two love stones with their eyes closed which means the person has a true love. I on the other hand opted against trying it this time around. Then we took a drink from the pure water that comes from a spring in the shrine and gives good health to those that drink it. The day was quite long so we called it an early night after grabbing some dinner in kiyamachi, the local restaurant and bar area.


Of course I over slept the next morning so we ended up taking a taxi to Ryoanji, which has a famous rock garden. Somehow we managed to beat the rush again and got some peaceful minutes of meditation. Then the school kids came in and we decided to migrate around the surrounding gardens and pond. After we went to Kinkakuji, known as the Golden Pavillion. Thankfully the emperor at the time followed through with leafing this shrine in gold but it also started raining once we arrived. It was still as gorgeous as last time I was there and I am glad my parents got to see it. Despite the rain, the rest of the day was spent shopping, walking, and eating. Basically a laid back afternoon before I met up with Blaine for a couple hours that night to catch up. Our paths might not cross for a while so I am glad I got to see him for a while. Then I said goodbye to my parents and caught the night bus back to Niigata for a school trip the next morning. Things never seem to slow down around here.

posted by Aaron @ 2:49 AM