My wife and I visited Kyoto, Japan yesterday. Kyoto has probably the greatest number of remaining shrines and temples in the country. Between the wars and rebellions over the years, many of the structures, dating back as old as 7 AD, had been lost; however, Kyoto has remained more in tact than other areas.
I really had no idea what to expect visiting Kyoto. For all I knew, we'd be eating good food, watching tall buildings, and laughing at the truck loads of individuals in odd clothing. I was in for a treat.
First, we took the Shinkansen. The bullet train.
This machine really is fantastic. It travels from anywhere between 150-190 mph. Looking out the window, you can see youre travelling that fast; however, sitting in your seat, youd think you were in a Cadillac traveling at 72 mph. The take off does not jerk you, and the stop does not give you whip lash. In fact, you can bring your own beer for the train ride. Who cannot appreciate that?
Mt. Fuji
Mt. Fuji is one hell of a site. It carries a very solemn aura. Even the view from the window gave me the chills and made me shut up, which is a hard thing to do on this vacation. All I could imagine is what an extreme site it would be to see this volcano erupt. Being a stratovolcano, it only periodically erupts, the last being in the 1700s. There is no settling in the blast region (~9 mi), but still, the thought of this maniac blowing its lid is something ridiculous. The life it recycles, the power, the awe - really, Fuji is a beast.
This was our train on the N700 Shinkansen.
Kyoto tower, once we arrived, was visible as we left the train station. Could you imagine this swaying back and forth during the mammoth earthquake?
This is the first temple we visited. It was insanely insanely serious. You couldnt take pictures inside the sanctuary, and if you did, they would confiscate your camera. If they suspected you did, they would inspect your camera. There were signs inside, with broken English, everywhere letting you know this rule.
Inside here were 500 near life sized statues, one giant statute of buddha, and the 12 guardians of buddha statues. They were all sculpted in or before the early 1300s. They were all extremely ornate and intensely detailed. Quite a site it was. There were tons of visitors, many foreigners, and a ton of incense. This was my favorite because of the seriousness. Most of the other temples we visited were laden with laughing teens and carnage, people fighting for the best position to get a good pictures, which was really annoying.
This is where all the statues were housed.
We then traveled to the next one. We walked down these old Japanese roads full of tiny businesses. This area was heavy with tourist traffic and most locals avoided these areas. This is the perfect example of an old Japanese street. House after house after house after house after house after business after business after business after business after house after power line.
On to the next temple. This was definitely by far the biggest we visited. It was also the most packed with tourists.
The architecture was absolutely wonderful. I couldnt believe I was seeing these things.
Its tough to see, but inside here was a statue of one of the 12 guardians of Buddha. It was very creeping. These guardian statues had crystal eyeballs to give them a more lifelike appearance, and boy did it work. It definitely felt like they were staring a hole into you. It instilled a sense of fear in me... not most others...
In taking this picture, I was trying to imagine what it would have been like to have been a Samurai in the Edo period: stepping out of the temple, and overlooking the country. Of course, the vast majority of buildings and houses and structures seen here would not have been so abundant. but regardless, the view here is simply breath taking. This picture does not capture the true beauty that is Kyoto.
This stairwell absolutely scared the hell out of me. Im deathly afraid of heights, and this is no exception. I had to step down one at a time. It probably took me six or seven minutes to descend these stairs due to fear.
And my lovely wife is always there to capture the fear. Thank you, sweet heart ;)
I made it, and survived. I loved this picture though because of all the Japanese maples. I couldnt tell you how old they were, but insanely old. Ive never seen them this big.
Huge structures, built in the 1300s, surrounded by huge Japanese maples. This is one of the prettiest things probably in the whole world.
My lovely wife showing just how huge the doors were.
I like this picture because it demonstrates just how small the doorways were. In the 1300s, people were small. Extremely small.
Even the big doors were small. Very very small.
Could you imagine this street, in complete darkness, loaded with Samurai and ninjas waiting to attack you as you slept? Though the road is gravel, and every step taken was loud, 100s of warriors would build attacks silently.
This temple was really something. It was built in 1397, reconstructed in 1957. People dispute whether such thick gold plating was used in the original structure, but it has always carried the name "Golden Temple" and has always been known for being just that - gold. Very serene, very very very serene.
I cant thank my wife enough for this trip. This encompassed damn near everything I ever wanted to know about Japan. There is more history here than I could have ever believed. To be there, and witness it, to feel it, it was truly awesome and inspiring.
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