It's been a properly lazy day today, what with the rain this morning and the need to have some sort of plan for the next couple of days. Tomorrow I leave for Hiroshima and Miyajima, which involves a train, a hunt for a locker to leave my suitcase, a tour bus, a hunt for the locker where I left my suitcase, another train, a walk, and a ferry before I get to my hotel. No way I'm winging that, so this afternoon has mostly been spent looking at train times and figuring out the best way to see what I want to see.
This morning's plan was to walk to the National Museum, but when I stepped outside and saw how hard it was raining I decided to get the bus out and walk back instead. On reaching the museum, I was surprised to find it was closed for archaeological excavations ahead of renovations! Bloody archaeologists. With dreams of spending some quiet hours walking object-filled halls crushed, I settled for their special exhibition on the history of Zen.
I couldn't take photos inside, so mere words will have to do, and there's honestly not much I can tell you except that it was a nicely presented, object-filled exhibition with very little in the way of English translations. The top 2 floors (it was spread over 3, and you started from the top) were mainly portraits of disciples, books, and artwork relating to the introduction of Zen Buddhism to Japan and it's evolution over the centuries. This I got from the short English description at the start of each section. There were a few carved wooden statues of disciples sitting down, which were beautiful, and had glass or lacquered eyes so they shone at you. It was interesting, but I didn't learn very much.
The ground floor was stunning. There was a large golden statue of a buddha-like figure (not actually the Buddha, but maybe a disciple?), with smaller decorated statues around him. The room itself had black walls, so the effect was amazing.
The best bit, though, was one of the other visitors. I suspect he was a specialist in Buddhism, because he kept walking up to the portraits and pictures and making noises of surprise or delight. And he was English, so he kept waving his partner over and explaining how the portrait was famous, and it meant this and that. He looked so severe, like an angry, ageing professor, but then he acted like an excited schoolboy.
After the exhibition, I wandered in the gardens for a while. It was still raining a little, but it was so warm I didn't really care.
The garden was filled with archaeological stones from building foundations or supports, as well as the usual statues and monuments, and it made for a lovely wander.
At this point, I decided I was hungry, so I stopped at the museum cafe for lunch, which I managed to order almost entirely in Japanese. They had an interesting selection of food there, though, with foreign dishes given a Japanese twist. (Which I suppose the British do, so I shouldn't be surprised.) I had a sort of carbonara, which was lovely, but was served with rice rather than pasta. There was also a hamburger (just the patty, not the bun) swimming in gravy, and a beef stew with a huge mound of rice in the middle in an attempt to make it look presentable. You can't make beef stew look presentable, but they had really tried. It all smelled gorgeous, but it looked odd.
The walk back to the hotel was filled with quirky little lanes, surprise shrines, and odd little waterways. There are shrines everywhere. Not the big, curly-roofed buildings, but little stone hollows with a statue or some candles in. Some were outside shops, some were down little dead-end alleys, and they all looked well-kept and well used. I accidentally almost walked into one yesterday while waiting for the bus - there was a nook in the building by the bus stop, and the nook had a shrine in it. Maybe it's my shrine-blindness, but most of them are really difficult to spot, even though they aren't hidden. And I definitely took a photo of one, but my camera seems to have eaten it, so you can have a shot of a random waterway I passed.
Back to my walk. My first landmark was the Sanjusangendo temple, which I peered into but didn't actually enter. Apparently it's famous for having 1001 statues (thanks to Google Maps for that snippet of information).
There was a temple opposite this which I wasn't expecting to see, and looking it up now I'm back at the hotel, I learn that it was the Hojujidono Temple. It had turned into a beautiful day by this point, and it made for a lovely scene.
The cherry blossom may be fading now, but there's plenty of other flowers coming into bloom. The city is filled with azaleas, and a lot of the temples have wisteria just starting to flower. With a backdrop of ancient buddhist architecture, Kyoto is looking incredible.
Finally, I crossed the river and made it to the station (and my hotel) once more. There was one final thing I wanted a photo of - something I have walked past every day, just at the point when I've put my camera away. But here it is, finally!
I have no idea what they're for, but I thought they were adorable. There are lots of statues of animal characters around, many of which seem to be spirits to watch over shops or offices, but I don't think these are those. These are just two little jellyfish pointing the way to the station (left), and some park or other (right).
It's still pretty early here, so I'm going to head out and explore the department store across the road, and maybe find a snack for dinner. Until tomorrow!
This morning's plan was to walk to the National Museum, but when I stepped outside and saw how hard it was raining I decided to get the bus out and walk back instead. On reaching the museum, I was surprised to find it was closed for archaeological excavations ahead of renovations! Bloody archaeologists. With dreams of spending some quiet hours walking object-filled halls crushed, I settled for their special exhibition on the history of Zen.
The Art of Zen From Mind to Form.
I couldn't take photos inside, so mere words will have to do, and there's honestly not much I can tell you except that it was a nicely presented, object-filled exhibition with very little in the way of English translations. The top 2 floors (it was spread over 3, and you started from the top) were mainly portraits of disciples, books, and artwork relating to the introduction of Zen Buddhism to Japan and it's evolution over the centuries. This I got from the short English description at the start of each section. There were a few carved wooden statues of disciples sitting down, which were beautiful, and had glass or lacquered eyes so they shone at you. It was interesting, but I didn't learn very much.
The ground floor was stunning. There was a large golden statue of a buddha-like figure (not actually the Buddha, but maybe a disciple?), with smaller decorated statues around him. The room itself had black walls, so the effect was amazing.
The best bit, though, was one of the other visitors. I suspect he was a specialist in Buddhism, because he kept walking up to the portraits and pictures and making noises of surprise or delight. And he was English, so he kept waving his partner over and explaining how the portrait was famous, and it meant this and that. He looked so severe, like an angry, ageing professor, but then he acted like an excited schoolboy.
After the exhibition, I wandered in the gardens for a while. It was still raining a little, but it was so warm I didn't really care.
The fountain in the museum gardens.
The garden was filled with archaeological stones from building foundations or supports, as well as the usual statues and monuments, and it made for a lovely wander.
At this point, I decided I was hungry, so I stopped at the museum cafe for lunch, which I managed to order almost entirely in Japanese. They had an interesting selection of food there, though, with foreign dishes given a Japanese twist. (Which I suppose the British do, so I shouldn't be surprised.) I had a sort of carbonara, which was lovely, but was served with rice rather than pasta. There was also a hamburger (just the patty, not the bun) swimming in gravy, and a beef stew with a huge mound of rice in the middle in an attempt to make it look presentable. You can't make beef stew look presentable, but they had really tried. It all smelled gorgeous, but it looked odd.
The walk back to the hotel was filled with quirky little lanes, surprise shrines, and odd little waterways. There are shrines everywhere. Not the big, curly-roofed buildings, but little stone hollows with a statue or some candles in. Some were outside shops, some were down little dead-end alleys, and they all looked well-kept and well used. I accidentally almost walked into one yesterday while waiting for the bus - there was a nook in the building by the bus stop, and the nook had a shrine in it. Maybe it's my shrine-blindness, but most of them are really difficult to spot, even though they aren't hidden. And I definitely took a photo of one, but my camera seems to have eaten it, so you can have a shot of a random waterway I passed.
Random waterway. Maybe a tributary - the river is somewhere behind me here.
Back to my walk. My first landmark was the Sanjusangendo temple, which I peered into but didn't actually enter. Apparently it's famous for having 1001 statues (thanks to Google Maps for that snippet of information).
There was a temple opposite this which I wasn't expecting to see, and looking it up now I'm back at the hotel, I learn that it was the Hojujidono Temple. It had turned into a beautiful day by this point, and it made for a lovely scene.
Hojujidono Temple outer wall.
The cherry blossom may be fading now, but there's plenty of other flowers coming into bloom. The city is filled with azaleas, and a lot of the temples have wisteria just starting to flower. With a backdrop of ancient buddhist architecture, Kyoto is looking incredible.
Finally, I crossed the river and made it to the station (and my hotel) once more. There was one final thing I wanted a photo of - something I have walked past every day, just at the point when I've put my camera away. But here it is, finally!
Some little jellyfish dudes.
I have no idea what they're for, but I thought they were adorable. There are lots of statues of animal characters around, many of which seem to be spirits to watch over shops or offices, but I don't think these are those. These are just two little jellyfish pointing the way to the station (left), and some park or other (right).
It's still pretty early here, so I'm going to head out and explore the department store across the road, and maybe find a snack for dinner. Until tomorrow!
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