A Taste of Kyoto

I had some time to kill before my final training lesson today and so I decided to explore a bit of the area around Kyoto station. The morning was not a pleasurable one. I woke up with the headache I had gone to bed and the skies were cloudy. Things would clear up eventually above but the throbbing in my temples would not leave. I probably should have saved this planed excursion for a day when I was feeling better but I had to get up early anyway to place my luggage in the lobby. It was being picked up for delivery to my new apartment so, again, my suitcase is off on another adventure without me.

Kyoto is one of the reasons I am in Japan and I will write more about my draw to this historical place when I am able to actually explore it at length. I’ve been teased by the city these last two weeks, as it appears I have to stop there once a day to get to training. I have seen the city roll by on the train and caught glimpses when I walked through the station but today, knowing that my lessons were starting later in the day, I decided to explore. Kyoto, one day you and I will get better aquatinted but for now how about a little foreplay?


This is a view from the skyway of Kyoto station. You ride an escalator to the heavens, folks, as this thing just keeps going like that pink Energizer rabbit. The skyway is a glassed in path that takes you over the entire train station and gives you beautiful views of the city like this one. That tall tower you are looking at is a hotel and it was my landmark of the day due to the fact that it was always in sight.



Kyoto station, some say, is an architectural marvel with its nod to futurism in the design. I agree to an extent but steal and glass just ain’t my cup of tea when it comes to building construction. I am much more fascinated by stone and wood structures. That being said, gazing up at the crossbeams and girders lead to a very artistic sight. This is the second largest train station in Japan and hundreds enter and exit daily. Today I was but one fish. The station was opened in 1878 but was replaced in 1941 with a newer facility. A fire reduced the station to ashes in 1952 but it was quickly rebuilt. The current incarnation of the station was opened in 1997 to commemorate the city’s 1,200 year anniversary.

At 70 meters high and a total floor space of over 230 square meters, this place takes some time to explore and I spent a good hour or so wandering about the shops and settled into one of the ramen restaurants on a higher level of the station for lunch. This area, more like a corner high above the station floor, has about 5 ramen noodle joints all competing for your attention. The plop the cutest of Japanese girls out to attract the eye of the traveling businessmen who generally frequent these places (at least I assume so as there was nobody else eating there today but those of the briefcased kind). The girls call out welcomes to you in squeaky voices and customers like myself peruse the vending machines of each place trying to see which one has the cheaper menu. I choose a pork concoction and ducked on in. A lot of places you visit in Japan will have really low ceilings, especially the entranceway. All you tall folk out there be cognizant of this or else you might wind up unconscious to soon wake to find a noodle cook hovering over you waving a towel that reeks of chicken broth in your face. I don’t speak from experience but, hey, one bad bump and you never know. I’ve come to call ramen my favorite of Japanese foods as the mix of noodles, egg, broth, onion and whatever else they put in is just a taste sensation that keeps hitting you in waves. You will be happy to know that my chopstick and noodle battles are getting less violent. I’ve not had a bowl of ramen I haven’t enjoyed yet and this one, piping hot, was needed to warm my innards. The day outside was pretty chilly and I had to break out the winter jacket for the first time in two weeks. Yes, it was a frigid +8. I know, know, I am being spoiled out here weather wise while all my Canadian friends know real chilly pain. A stomach now filled with noodle goodness, it was time to find a shrine I read as being closest to the station.


Astro Boy sent me off.


This Toyotomi Hideyoshi fella’ sure gets around. He built this temple in 1591 as the flagship temple for the Jodo Shin-shu (True Pure Land) school of Buddhism. This sect is very popular with over 12 million followers world wide. The temple became a World Heritage site 1994.


When you enter the temple you must remove your shoes, as is the custom here. All the shoes faced the front gate although I am not sure why this was. I removed mine and placed it in the row with the others.


You enter the Daisho-in Hall through these sliding doors and step on the tatami mats in a very silent atmosphere. Three people stood before the golden altar facing the Buddha to prey. I did my best not to disturb them by only taking this one photo.

There are five buildings on the site but the main hall is currently under renovations until 2010 so I was not able to go inside. There was still a lot to see, though. Here are some photos from around the temple site. The sun came out just when it was needed.







This is but a taste of what Kyoto has to offer. There are over 50 of these sites in and around the city not to mention the Geisha districts, ancient gardens and the pink flowers of the cherry blossoms trees in Spring. Factor in traditional Japanese theatre performances and the locations used in Kurosawa films and you start to realize why this city is the prime spot to explore the culture of the traditional Japan that seems to be fading in the afterglow of the neon and the within the shadows of the skyscrapers. I stepped onto the train platform once again feeling like my stay in Kyoto was like a speedy tussle in a lavish hotel room. The romance will not stop there. Kyoto, my flirtations will soon flourish. I promise you I will be back.