Nara -- (Also, Kyoto)

Before relocating to Kyoto, Nara was Japan's capital city from 710-784 AD.  The city was heavily influenced by Buddhism and currently houses the largest number of National Treasures in Japan.  Seeing as it was only a 40 minute trip from Kyoto, Caroline and I decided to spend a day in the old capital.

We did make one final stop in Kyoto at Fushimi Inari Shrine.  The shrine was built in honor of Inari, the Japanese fox goddess, (it's said that the fox spirits are able to posses people by slipping in through their fingernails).  The path leading to the hilltop is lined with hundreds of red torii, (shinto gates).  I removed all of my finger nails before we entered the shrine so I remain unpossessed.   

Onward to Nara.  Our first stop was Todai-ji.  The main attraction at Todai is Diabutsu, the largest Buddha statue in Japan and one of the largest in the world. Diabutsu spends all of his time inside of Daibutsu-den, the largest wooden building in the world.

Just outside of of the Diabutsu-den sits Yakushi Nyorai, Buddha of medicine and healing. You're encouraged to touch the statue and then touch that same part of your own body in order to heal your ailments.  I'm in perfect working order though, so I skipped this part.

Nara is also home to a large number of "wild" deer.  By home I really mean it was like having a petting zoo follow you around everywhere.  These animals looked gross and mangy and they smelled horrible.  This didn't stop people from petting them, feeding them, playing with them, taking pictures with them, etc.  I was horrified because back home in the great state of Pennsylvania it's pretty common knowledge that deer are full of parasites, (like ticks that carry lyme disease), and I'd never think about letting one hang out next to my ice cream stand:

Anyway, except for mutant rat-deer, Nara was well worth the day trip from Kyoto. We spent the rest of our day walking through Nara Park and stumbling into a few other temples, shrines, and gardens.  

Our vacation had now reached it's halfway point.  Caroline wasn't ready to leave Kyoto, so she ran away and tried to hide.

Ride Kyoto, Ride

While Kyoto's bus system will get you to and from all of the popular attractions, I'd recommend renting a bike and seeing the city like the locals do.  Kyoto is famous for it's cycling culture*. Almost everyone had a bike and almost every sidewalk had a bike lane.  If the sidewalks were busy it was easy to ride in the street, as motorists treated cyclists with an unprecedented, (at least by my experiences in the states), level of respect.

*It's the major form of transport.  I'd caution any visitor to look both ways before exiting onto a sidewalk.

The best part about deciding to ride through Kyoto was the amount of ground we were able to cover, allotting us even more time to explore the city, (Kyoto's streets are based on the grid system, making navigation extremely simple). This was especially critical because we only planned 2.5 days in Kyoto and the main attractions are mostly scattered along the outskirts of the city center.  

We grabbed a map, packed some food, and were on our way.  Here are some of the highlights:

To-ji Temple -- Home to the largest wooden pagoda in Japan.

Heian Shrine -- A scaled down replica of the original Imperial Palace, home to the most beautiful garden in Kyoto, and the last of my "Lost in Translation Destinations". 

Nanzenji Temple -- Where do I even begin?  Tucked away in the eastern hills this temple was a hidden gem.  First of all, the complex was huge...

...with a trail that snaked up into the mountains where there was an assortment of statues, small pagodas, and even a small cave full of candles and incense.  

The second story of the main gate afforded some nice views of the city sprawl as well as some of the surrounding gardens, (which would have cost extra to enter).  

But my favorite part was the old aqueduct...

...which appeared to be in working order...

...and doubled as a foot path.

Ginkakuji -- The Silver Pavilion that isn't very silver.  It was mid-afternoon by the time we made it here so unlike our first three stops, this place was jam packed full of people.

Kinkaku-ji Temple -- Temple of the Golden Pavilion, (which is actually golden unlike it's "silver" counterpart).  This was originally built as a retirement villa for the Shogun in the late 14th century.  Legend* has it that the entire temple is actually made out of chocolate but only the Shogun, (who is dead), has the power to remove the golden foil wrapper.

*no such legend exists

The Golden Pavilion was a mob scene, full of tourists and school children.  We forgot to set our alarms that morning, so we had a late start, and the ride was a little bit further than we anticipated.

And finally, the most integral part of these two days:

      

thanks guys

Kyoto -- The First Day

Home to 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites, and more than 2000 religious and cultural artifacts, (1600 temples, 400 shrines, countless gardens, narrow alleys, streets lined with paper lanterns, hidden tea houses, etc.), Kyoto is the epicenter of Japanese culture and should be at the very top of any traveller's itinerary.

Our first destination was Adashino Nenbutsu-ji, a temple located in the foothills on the western outskirts of the city.  Inside of the temple grounds stand approximately 8000 stone-carved Buddhas, each marking the grave of an unknown or forgotten person.

  Most of the stones were being swallowed by moss...

...but some of the carvings still looked pristine.

I could have spent hours inspecting each of the rock carvings, but unfortunately we had only 30 minutes before the grounds would close.  

(I should also mention that we were handed pamphlets at the front gate.  We didn't bother to look at the pamphlets until we were back at the bus stop, and that's when we learned that photography was forbidden).  

Feeling rather bad about ourselves, we headed to Gion, (the famed geisha district), in search of our hostel.

geisha statue

geisha street

geisha house

geisha stroll

It's quite (definitely) possible that none of these captions* accurately describe the contents of the photographs, but it's fun to pretend.

*Except for the statue. That's actually a real statue.

Lake Kawaguchi -- Fujisan

Visiting Mt. Fuji was pretty close to the top of my "Things I'd Really Like to do Whilst in Japan" list.  It's almost impossible not to see the mountain in some way, shape, or form, (If you look to the very middle of this photo, you can see Fujisan rising out the Earth).

I'll admit, this was a nice surprise as I had no idea that a window seat on the right side of the airplane would afford me a bird's eye view of Fuji, I was still determined to get as close to the mountain as I possibly could.  

Luckily for me, Kaji, (one of our wonderful hosts), is a Fuji enthusiast who has reached the summit twice.  He was able to direct us to the Fuji Five Lakes, (Lake Kawaguchi to be exact), which afforded us some brilliant views of the mountain.

It looks pretty far away in the pictures, but we were walking in Fuji's shadow. Lake Kawaguchi is as close as you can get to the mountain without beginning to climb, and climbing season only runs June through September.

Fuji is generally a shy mountain, obscuring itself among the clouds on most days. We were really lucky to have a clear morning sky because by 2 o'clock the clouds had begun to roll in.

And just in case anyone is interested:

Fuji Facts:

Elevation: 12,388 ft (3776 m)

Avg Summer Temp: 30F

Avg Winter Temp: -37F

Last Eruption (it is an active volcano): 1708