Exploring Kyoto (part 2)

After our Torii gate experience at Fushimi Inari Shrine, our group had lunch and headed to Kiyomizu-Dera(Buddhist Temple).

Kiyomizu-Dera is one of the most famous temples in Kyoto. It is a
 UNESCO World Heritage site.

Kiyomizu-Dera is one of the most celebrated temples in Japan and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The temple is well known for its large wooden terrace.

Visitors get a wonderful view of the maple and cherry trees below from the wooden terrace.

The wooden terrace  area at the Kiyomizu-Dera. The stage and
 main hall were both built without the use of nails.

Japanese visitors pay respect to the temple's primary
object of worship  which is a statue of the eleven faced
and thousand armed Kannon.

Visitors also light incense and pull the rope that is
attached to the gong to signify their prayers and
pay respect

We also walked to the Jishu Shrine where the famous love stone is found as our Japan-based friends tell us it brings luck in finding love.

Women walk up to the shrine where the Love stone is found

The love stone at the shrine.

A Japanese woman is getting blessing
from a priest as she prays for love.

An altar that locals visit to offer their prayers for love

Jishu Shrine, a shrine dedicated to the deity of love and matchmaking. In front of the shrine are two stones, placed 18 meters apart. It is believed that if you can successfully find your way from one stone to the other with your eyes closed then it brings bring luck in finding love.

Another highlight of the Kiyomizu-Dera is the Otowa Waterfall, which is located at the base of the main hall.

Otowa Waterfall’s waters are divided into three separate streams and visitors use cups attached to long poles to drink from them. Each  water stream is said to have different benefits. One is for longevity, the second one is for success at school and the third stream is for a fortunate love life. It is believed that a visitor should only choose one since drinking from all three streams is considered to be greedy.

Visitors choose from one of 3 streams and drinks the water
from the Otowa Waterfall

We also saw a monk while we were walking and saw that visitors give money to help the monk in his journey.

Japanese visitor shares his blessing to the monk

Visitors enjoy the walk at Kiyomizu-Dera's grounds as they see
maple and cherry blossom trees

Another structure that you will surely see in the area is the three-storied Koyasu Pagoda which stands among the trees in the far southern end of the temple grounds. It is believed that a visit by a pregnant woman to the pagoda brings an easy and safe childbirth.

Koyasu Pagoda at the  Kiyomizu-Dera temple grounds

After our Kiyomizu-Dera visit, our driver took us to the Gion district.

Gion is Kyoto's most famous geisha district. It is located around Shijo Avenue between Yasaka Shrine in the east and the Kamo River in the west. It is filled with shops, restaurants and ochaya(teahouses), where geiko(Kyoto dialect for geisha) and maiko(geiko apprentice) entertain.

Gion features traditional wooden machiya merchant houses. Since the property taxes were formerly based upon street frontage, the houses were built with narrow facades only five to six meters wide, but extend up to twenty meters in from the street.

Since it was day time when we went there, we did not get to see any geiko and maiko in the area. They must still be having their beauty sleep since they work at night when tourists often go to the area to have dinner and watch their graceful dances since this is part of the night entertainment that the Gion district is known for.

It was fun to see a prenuptial photo shoot though for a Japanese couple wearing traditional outfits.

Japanese couple being directed by their photographer for their prenup
photo at Gion district.

Wooden machiya merchant houses at Gion district

After our short stopover at Gion district, our driver/tour guide brought us to The Golden Pavilion.

Kinkakuji  or the Golden Pavilion is a Zen temple in northern Kyoto whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf. 

The Golden Pavilion was formally known as Rokuonji, the temple and was the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. It became a Zen temple of the Rinzai sect after his death in 1408.

The Golden Pavilion or Kinkakuji is a structure that features different
architectural styles per floor. A golden reflection of the historical
structure  can be seen on the pond.

Kinkakuji is an impressive structure built overlooking a large pond and is the only building left of Yoshimitsu's former retirement complex. It has burned down numerous times throughout history. The present structure was rebuilt in 1955.

The first floor of the Golden Pavilion uses Shinden style, the style used for
palace buildinges during the Heian Period. 

It is not possible to enter the pavilion but visitors can view from across the pond the statue on the first floor.

The statues of the Shaka Buddha(historical Buddha)
and Yoshimitsu are stored in the first floor.

We walked in the garden area and passed by a pond and a coin tossing area.

Pond within the pavilion grounds

Visitors toss a coin in order to make a wish or get some luck

  

The coin tossing area where visitors aim to shoot the coin in the
black coloured bowl for luck and for wishes to come true

Visitors  make a wish and pull the rope to sound
the gong at the pavilion's grounds

A small store selling lucky charms at the Golden Pavilion
grounds

The temples and shrines in Kyoto are truly serene. Visitors get a feeling of peace as they walk through the grounds filled with trees. The way the structures remain preserved is simply fascinating. Visiting Kyoto simply showed us how ancient Japan looked like and how the strong culture and love for history in Japan has led to keep the structures the way it is.