Kyoto Diaries

-京都市

The first view of Tokyo station

The metro station was an imposing building with broad pavements leading up to the South Side entrance right opposite the way to the local metro (Marunochi line).
Locating the Shinkansen platform was quite easy including purchasing one-way tickets for our destination and we boarded the train at platform 14. The platforms were clearly laid out for the cars with designated entry points where the swelling crowd waited patiently in orderly queues. What caught our eye were the remarkable neatness of the station and the lack of numerous dustbins. Finally, when we did sight the bins, we were quite taken aback at the waste segregation rules

The train made a grand appearance into the station smoothly easing in. As the electronic doors opened to let alighting passengers out, we entered and settled ourselves on comfortable chairs.

The train journey itself was a delight smoothly whizzing past the countryside offering first views of Pacific. Cities of Shinagawa, Yokohama, Fuji flashed past and before we knew we were in Kyoto station having travelled a distance of 515 km in about 140 minutes! A chill breeze greeted us as we alighted the train. Realizing that we may have been a bit adventurous in our choice of attire, we huddled closer - a hint of things to come perhaps!

Kyoto city is located in a valley surrounded by mountains visible from many points in the city. We loved the quaint city at first sight. Home to numerous UNESCO World Heritage sites, Kyoto seemed to bring about an old world charm with a sublime atmosphere being the capital for over a thousand years. Although there are a number of attractions in this ancient city we decided to visit a few that caught our interest in our 36 hours of stay.

Depositing our luggage at the hotel we ventured to the streets and looked up the nearby bus stop purchased a day pass on Bus Route 205 for 600 JPY and got down at the shrine Kinkaku-ji temple -also know as the golden pavilion temple of Zen origins. The sight was dazzling as the temple shimmered under the bright sunlight. The reflection of the temple on the pond was spectacular. The mirror pond as one can call it had many small islands of rock and pine trees.

The landscaped garden in a go around style was charming and one could stroll around the paths aimlessly just imbibing atmosphere. The garden had many points of interests with manicured gardens and winding paths, little streams and gleaming water, there was freshness and positive vibes all around. There were statues around the garden where one would throw coins for luck. 

At the end of the walk, there was a temple with a gong. One could light candles and incense around the temple.

We had our first taste of the Sesame and green tea ice creams, also succumbing to the first bottle of Sake.

The wind was quite chilly by now and not having attired appropriately, our defenses were running low. We thought we could chance a trip to Arashiyama and finish both sights on the same day and boarded a bus! However, after 40 minutes of traveling in the opposite direction, decided it was cold and took a break, retiring to the hotel to actually check in.

There was a mild drizzle in the evening and the air was cool and refreshing. We decided to walk to the nearby Kiyomizudera shrine. It was a 23 minutes walk from hotel. Taking the inner roads of the city past the Geisha district, we crossed the Kamo river and reached the pathway along the river. A beautiful sight it was. The water trickled over the pebbles and stones making musical sounds.



As we walked further we could spot the Cherry Blossoms. The roads were lined with cherry blossoms on both the sides. The recent wind and rain had the flowers strewn on the foot paths.

Wonderstruck by the beauty of the riverside walk with the cherry blossoms we almost failed to notice a beautiful rainbow forming just after the rains ceased.

Crossing the river past Higashiyama district, we walked uphill spotting tea houses and fancy restaurants amidst milling crowds. There were numerous temple shops lining the road selling Japanese pottery and knickknacks. The bustling crowd reminded us of temple towns of India with a lively hum of human sounds.

Once we crossed the final ascent, steps greeted us to the beautiful doorway of this shrine dedicated as the Temple of Pure Water. The brightly colored pagoda welcomed us.

The views of the city from this hill were grand with colors of cherry blossoms providing a rich variety to the landscape. 

We were delighted when a pretty girl in a Kimono costume approached us for a picture.

Spending some time there, walking between shrines and waterfalls, we lost ourselves enjoying the peace and quiet despite the presence of hundreds of visitors. 

Deciding to climb down thereafter, we meandered here and there, venturing into a bakery and having a conversation with the pretty hostess inquiring about the availability of possible vegetarian options. We exited the shop disappointed, unfortunately, and walked towards Kawaramachi-Dore. By this time, the sun had set and the skies darkened and city was illuminated by beautiful lights, tastefully done both by the city administration as well as by private establishments. Enjoying the lively atmosphere prevalent in this area, we watched, fascinated, at an automated car parking facility, contraptions grabbing the cars left by drivers and sending them safe into the clutches of higher level car park.

Finally, we had sticky rice and vegetable curry with eggplant on the side before hitting the night spots.