Kyoto Temples

September 26th--Today we had a full day planned in Kyoto so we were up and moving pretty quickly this morning. Plus the sun rises right into our window around 5:00 a.m. so it makes it a little difficult to really sleep in. Anyway, our first stop was the bus station to buy a day pass for the bus. We then hopped on a bus heading to Kinkakuji Temple (Temple of the Golden Pavilion). The first thing we saw upon entering the temple area was the magnificent Golden Pavilion which is a three-story pavilion covered in gold leaf with a roof topped by a bronze phoenix. We were lucky to have a gorgeous day so the Golden Pavilion reflected onto the pond. After taking in the beauty, we walked around the grounds of the temple area. Along the way, we were stopped by 2 different groups of Junior High students wanting to interview us to practice their English. It was an awesome experience being able to talk to them about their country and to see how remarkable their English was. We were thanked by them and presented a hand-made Japanese thank-you card. From the Kinkakuji Temple, we made the 20 minute walk to the Ryoanji Temple. Right outside the Ryoanji Temple though was a cafe that we stopped off in for a quick lunch. Upon entering the Ryoanji Temple, we were immediately greeted by the 1,000 year old pond that was filled with lily pads. The main thing to visit at this temple is the Zen rock garden, probably the most famous in all of Japan. The Zen rock garden is filled with fifteen rocks set in white pebbles and are surrounded on three sides by a clay wall and on the fourth by a wooden veranda. We had to take our shoes off before entering the building and when we reached the veranda, we took a seat for a couple of minutes. It is here that we tried to take in the peacefulness of it, but we had 2 kids that didn't want to sit still for very long. So, we made our way out of the temple and caught the bus heading to the Kyoto Handicraft Center. We were told that this was the place to shop, but we were afraid it was going to be like the Silk Market in Beijing. We were wrong. It was totally the opposite of it. We were in no way pressured to buy anything and there weren't a lot of people there. We were able to browse the 7 floor building at our own leisure and actually weren't there for very long. We left the center about 4:30 and got on the bus heading to Kiyomizu Temple. The bus dropped us off at the bottom of the mountain. We had to walk a pretty good ways up to the Kiyomizu Temple which is located on Mount Otowa, but it was well worth it. We were immediately greeted by a beautiful gate and a three-story pagado. After passing the pagoda, we went into the main hall which was built over a cliff. The hall is dedicated to the goddess of mercy and compassion. This is the location where the kids took their turn praying. We then wandered around the area for a little while taking in the magnificent view of the area and Kyoto at sunset. From here, we went down the stairs to the Otowa springs. Here we got to taste the purity of its water. Kiyomizu translates as "pure water". It is said that any wishes made here will come true. By the time we were done drinking the water, it was time to head back down the mountain and head to dinner. We had decided on a place in the downtown area of Kyoto. We ate at Kushiya Monogatari which is an all-you-can-eat, do-it-yourself kushiyaki restaurant. We chose our skewers of various items (fish, chicken, vegetables, etc.) from the refrigerated cases, brought them back to our table, dipped them in a paste, covered them with bread crumbs and deep fired them right at our table. Needless to say, we left the restaurant extremely full and happy. What a cultural experience today was...all 3 temples offered us something completely different and the food was like no other.