It's our final day of this trip! It's gone sooo quickly! We've walked miles upon miles upon miles but I think we saw, ate and drank about as much as possible. Today we saw Nanzenji Temple and Chionin Temple then made our way home to Misawa. For information about where we stayed, how we got around Kyoto, etc., see It's a Trip Part 2.0. To read about how we got to Kyoto from Misawa, see It's a Trip Part 1.0. Or read any of the other gazillion (ok, actually 11 including this one) posts in my It's a Trip series to see how we spent our time in Kyoto/Hiroshima.
Kyoto map with today's locations.
The area where Nanzenji Temple is located was originally developed as a residence for a former Emperor in the mid-1200's, later that century (1291) it was dedicated as a Buddhist Temple. Just like pretty much everywhere else we've visited, the original buildings burned down long ago and have been rebuilt at least once. The grounds of Nanzenji have several buildings, gardens, sub-temples, a rock garden and an aqueduct, we just wandered around, we did not enter any of the paid areas.
We got to the temple via subway, Keage Station is about 600 meters from the temple.
Nanzenji is open everyday except December 28th-31st from 8:40-16:30/17:00 (depending on season). It is free to enter the temple grounds, admission cost to other areas vary, the principle attractions are the Sanmon Gate ¥500 and Hojo Garden ¥500.
GPS coordinates: 35.012247, 135.793845
Here's a little snippet of monks chanting. We couldn't see them, but they were in the Hatto or Dharma Hall.
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| Aqueduct that was completed in 1890. The purpose was to help transport water and goods from Lake Biwa to Kyoto. It was/is also used for hydroelectricity. |
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| There was a sign that mentioned a crack in the aqueduct. Right now it does not need to be repaired but is being closely monitored. There is a website where you can view the latest updates about the crack. |
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| On top of the aqueduct...just had to see where the path led... |
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| Hatto (Dharma Hall). The current building is from 1909. This building is not open to the public and is used for lectures and official ceremonies. |
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| Nanzenji Sanmon Gate, most recently rebuilt in 1628, it is 22 meters (72 feet) tall. |
Next stop was the Buddhist temple Chionin and and even more massive Sanmon Gate. We took the bus to get here from Nanzenji. Still had to walk about 400 meters after getting off the bus. Chionin was established around 1234. The Sanmon Gate is 24 meters (78 feet) tall and 50 meters (164 feet) wide and was built in 1621. It is the largest wooden gate in Japan. The temple grounds include several buildings, including the gate and Main Hall, and two gardens. The day we visited there were also many mosquitoes present on the grounds (thus limited pictures), enough that we only managed to see the Sanmon Gate, walk up the stairs beyond the gate to the Main Hall and then back down. There was a row of taxis parked on the street and the drivers were fogging themselves with bug spray while they waited for their passengers to return. I'd gotten enough bites on this trip, I did not need anymore!
Chionin is open everyday, the buildings and gardens are open from 9:00-16:00. Entry to the grounds is free. Admission to the gardens is ¥500 for both or ¥300 & ¥400 if you purchase tickets individually.
http://www.chion-in.or.jp/e/index.html
GPS coordinates: 35.005664, 135.782432
*Note: The Mieido (Main Hall) was completely covered and inaccessible when we visited (June 2014) due to renovations that are expected to last until 2019. It seems as though the Mieido has lots of interesting features including nightingale floors, unique door stoppers and a "forgotten" umbrella in the rafters. Disappointed that we weren't able to check it out!
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| Sanmon Gate. Largest wooden gate in Japan. |
Time for lunch. We've eaten extremely well on this trip...fabulous Wagyu beef, okonomiyaki, tsukemen, tonkatsu, gyoza, yakitori, shabu shabu, sukiyaki and pasta...plus some Subway, McD's and Lawson snacks...time for some sushi! We headed to Chojiro, a place I'd read about with English menu, an iPad system for ordering, fast service and good quality. We weren't disappointed, everything was good. Presentation/construction was a bit sloppy for sushi which is usually prepared and served with a lot of pride and precision. Oh well, that didn't make it taste any different.
http://www.chojiro-kyoto.com/
GPS coordinates: 35.004256, 135.770654
And it's time to head home. We reversed our original route: Kyoto Station-->local train to Osaka (Kansai Int'l)-->plane to Sendai-->drive to Misawa.
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| Kitkats available at Kansai Int'l. Don't know if I've mentioned it before, Japan has a huge variety of flavored KitKats. I'm always searching for new flavors! Strawberry cheesecake, green tea, cherry blossom+green tea, strawberry and sweet red bean. |
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| In case you didn't know this about chocolate... -Chocolate does not like high temperatures- |
We had a fantastic trip, thanks reading about our adventures and if you're planning a trip I hope this information has been helpful!
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