Gold, Rocks & Bamboo (It's a Trip Part 3.1)

After a great morning hike and lunch of course, we continued on, ready to see the sites of northwest and west Kyoto. **you can see a map of today's locations in It's a Trip Part 3.0** At Kyoto Station we hopped on a bus headed toward the breathtaking Kinkakuji Temple "Golden Pavilion" also called Rokuonji. The Buddhist temple Kinkakuji was built in the late 1300's and has burned down several times since then, most recently in 1950. The current building was built in 1955. This beautiful temple is covered in gold leaf and is a famous symbol of Kyoto. It has also been named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This was absolutely the busiest place we visited on this trip. We stood waiting at least 5 minutes for the opportunity to snap a quick picture of me with the temple in the background. I would have loved to get a picture of both of us, but at the time it was not worth the hassle, it was crazy, we were hot, we moved on.

Kinkakuji is open every day from 9:00-17:00. Admission is ¥400.

http://www.shokoku-ji.jp/k_about.html

GPS Coordinates: 35.040090, 135.729243

Next stop was Ryoanji Temple and its rock garden, the most famous in Japan. This was just a few minutes bus ride from Kinkakuji. The site became a Buddhist temple in 1450 but no one knows when the rock garden was created or what it's supposed to represent. There are several theories, but it is recommended to sit and meditate to find your own meaning. Fifteen rocks are arranged in the gravel filled rectangular garden, from any given angle it is impossible to see all the rocks at the same time. We didn't linger long enough to discover our own meanings in the garden. We thought maybe we could see all the rocks at one point, but we were also standing vs sitting like you would if meditating...so maybe we were cheating? Or what we thought was a separate rock was connected to another, who knows! There was no room for us to sit and ponder, the platform was full and it was in the afternoon sun. Again, we were hot and didn't stay long. Ryoanji and the gardens are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Ryoanji is open everyday, hours vary by season. Admission is ¥500.
http://www.ryoanji.jp/smph/eng/
GPS Coordinates: 35.035601, 135.718263

Pond within the grounds of Ryoanji.

Famous Zen rock garden.

Painted doors with in the Hojo (head priest's former residence).
From this building the rock garden is viewed.

From Ryoanji we took another short bus ride to Ninnaji Temple. Just like most other historical sites the buildings have burned down and been rebuilt numerous times. This temple was founded in 888, but most of the current buildings and structures were built in the early 1600's. We did not go into the "paid" area of the temple grounds but they have several buildings with artifacts connected by covered walkways, rock garden and pond gardens. Ninnaji is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. This temple was not crowded at all. There were not many other people wandering the grounds while we were there. Kind of nice not having to constantly dodge through the masses people.
Open everyday, hours vary by season. Admission to the temple grounds is free except during cherry blossom season when it is ¥500. Admission to the Goten (Palace & Gardens) and Reihokan Hall (Treasury Hall) are ¥500 each.
http://www.ninnaji.or.jp/multilingual_info.html
GPS Coordinates: 35.031336, 135.713788

One of the 2 guardian Deva kings within the Nio-mon.

Chokushi-mon "Gate of the Imperial Messenger".
This gate was built as an entrance for the Emperor to enter
the palace grounds. Unless the Emperor visits,
it is only opened once a year during a festival.
Most recently reconstructed in 1913.

More detail of the Chokushi Gate. It was beautiful.
Difficult to photograph with the sun behind it.

Five storied pagoda.
This one is 36 meters tall.

Kondo "Main Hall", was built in 1613 at the site of the
Imperial Palace. Several years later it was given to Ninnaji,
so the building was taken down and moved. It reached its
current location in 1644. It is designated as one of Japan's
National Treasures because it is the oldest building in
existence with this architectural design.

Bell tower, built in 1600's.

Ninnaji's Nio-mon "Gate of the Two Guardian Kings."
Built in the 1600's, it is 18 meters (61 feet) tall.

We took the Keifuku Electric Railway from a station near Ninnaji to Arashiyama, it wasn't covered under our transportation passes, but was only ¥200 per person. Arashiyama is the western outskirts of Kyoto. There are many temples, a famous bamboo grove, a foot onsen, a wild monkey park, scenic railway or boat tours and lots and lots of souvenir shops. We didn't have a ton of time and were "temple-d out" so we walked to the bamboo grove and checked out a few shops. The monkey park hadn't sounded very appealing when I read about it...especially when I read there was an uphill hike to get there. We'd already walked miles upon miles today. The thing with the bus/train/subway is that it gets you closer to your destination, but not right to the entrance. On average we were walking 600 meters from our drop off location to get to the entrance and then all around the grounds of each place and back to the bus stop/train station...and we hiked Mt. Inari this morning. We were getting tired. Keenan was getting hungry, no, he was getting hangry.
GPS Coordinates of Bamboo Grove: 35.017525, 135.674632

The trains on the railway are designed to look historical.

Kimono Forest at Arashiyama Station. There are
approximately 600 cloth filled tubes, they illuminate at night.

View from Togetsukyo Bridge.

The famous Bamboo Grove! Very peaceful.

From Arashiyama we made our way toward Nijo Castle, I knew it would be closed/closing but was hoping to still be able to wander the grounds and see things from the outside. Wrong, gates were closed. Did get a picture of one of the gate towers. And finally, to Keenan's delight, it was time to find some dinner. See Gyoza, Tonkatsu, Foods on Sticks & Beer (It's a Trip Part 3.2) for all the yummy food we had today!
Nijo Castle GPS Coordinates: 35.014436, 135.748186

Nijo Castle gate tower.