Ancient Kyoto

There have been quite a few times while traveling when I’ve realized that a particular culture is much more impressive than I ever realized. For the Japanese culture, that moment came for me while wandering through the meticulously cared for temples and gardens of ancient Japanese Zen masters this morning.

A quick ride on the shinkansen took me from Hiroshima to Kyoto this morning and I headed straight for the temple of Tenryu-ji, where I began my self-guided tour of the ancient city. Tenryu-ji is a Zen Buddhist temple near the hills on the outskirts of Kyoto and was originally built in 1339. For about an hour I wandered through the minimalist Japanese temple and the Japanese gardens that were so surreal they could have come from ‘Alice and Wonderland’. Outside the grounds of the temple was a huge grove of bamboo stalks that must have been 50 or 60 feet tall each. During my visit I imagined the ancient shoguns that must have used the place and thought to myself, ‘these guys really knew how to live’.

Although the Lonely Planet book recommends that those with only one day to spend in Kyoto spend their time in the Southern Higashiyama section of the city, I was determined to cram as many temple visits as possible in to make the most of my brief stop in Japan. After Tenryu-ji came Ninna-ji, featuring a five-story pagoda and equally impressive temples and gardens. Ryoan-ji, my next stop, featured a Japanese rock garden that apparently was the first of its kind and is the most recognized rock garden in the world. The brochure I was given at the entrance says that ‘It is up to each visitor to find out for himself what the garden signifies. The longer you gaze at it, the more varied your imagination becomes.’ The garden was interesting, but I must not have gazed long enough. To me, at the end of the day it’s still just a bunch of rocks. Kinkaku-ji, originally built in 1397, was the last of my stops in the Kyoto suburbs and features a spectacular gold-leaf-covered temple that is one of the most recognized sights in Japan. I circled the perimeter of the pond at the temple and enjoyed the classic Japanese views with a hoard of enthusiastic Japanese first graders who were just as excited to see the place for themselves. People have been enamored with Kinkaku-ji for generations; in 1950 a young Japanese monk was so obsessed with the temple that he burned it to the ground. Fortunately the building was meticulously reconstructed in 1955 for future visitors to enjoy.

To finish off my day I headed down to Southern Higashiyama and spent a couple of hours enjoying the most famous neighborhood in Kyoto. Narrow cobblestone streets guide visitors past eclectic Japanese shops and cafes, and surrounding the district on all sides are various temples and gardens that date back to the 14th century. Chion-in was my first stop and was memorable for having massive buildings for Buddhist worship. It also is the site where a famous priest named Honen fasted to death and is immortalized by a portrait in the main hall. Kodai-ji, the next temple along Higashiyama’s cobblestone path, features more impressive Japanese gardens, bamboo, and ‘teahouses designed by the renowned master of the tea ceremony, Sen-no-Rikyu’. Finally, the last temple of the day was Kiyomizu-dera, first built in 798 and now a huge gathering place for the touristy crowds of Higashiyama. Altogether I enjoyed every place I visited in Kyoto, but I don’t quite understand why everything I read about the city recommends that visitors head to Southern Higashiyama. The greatest stuff in Kyoto, in my opinion, are the varied temples and palaces in the far-flung outskirts of the city. To me, avoiding the crowds and seeing the most authentic sights is the best of both worlds.

Towards the end of the day I headed downtown to Musashi Sushi, a ‘conveyor-belt sushi’ joint recommended in my Lonely Planet books. The place reminded me of a 1950’s era ice cream shop, except that everyone was Japanese and instead of ice cream and milkshakes, a narrow conveyor guided servings of sashimi, sushi, and miso soup along the edge of the bar. Each plate cost ¥137 (about $1.50), and I pulled plates of raw octopus, salmon, tuna, and squid off the conveyor until my belly was full. I definitely got the impression that Musashi Sushi is a ‘budget’ establishment, but conveyor-sushi is a quirky aspect of Japanese culture that I absolutely had to experience.

To top off the day I stopped by a pachinko parlor that I passed while heading back from downtown. I really don’t know anything about pachinko except that it’s a colorful Japanese casino game with tiny metal balls, and that I remember seeing a show about Weird Al in Japan when I was nine years old and I’m pretty sure he spent a lot of time in pachinko parlors. Pachinko is as close as you can get to gambling without technically gambling. The machines are brightly lit hybrids of pinball and slots, and in the chaos of flashing neon lights, artificial electronic music, and the raw enthusiasm that exemplifies the pachinko parlor, the idea is to end up with more metal balls than you started with. Unfortunately my ¥500 worth of balls lasted me about 25 seconds and my pachinko experience was over. If too much pachinko turns a man into Weird Al, though, then maybe it’s better that I headed in a little early for the night.