Kyoto & Nara

A typhoon passed over Kyoto last night bringing heavy rains. The rattling of the windows to my room kind of kept me up through the night but it did not keep me from getting a good start on the day today. The rivers might be nearing the tops of their levees but the train was running. I had to go to Nara to see the giant Buddha.

Kennin-ji, the oldest Zen Temple in Kyoto, followed by Kiyomizudera as I biked around the city made for a good first day on Saturday. In the evening I pedaled through the entertainment district around Kwaramachi with restaurants and bars packed into narrow streets and tight alleys. People were flooding in.

I stopped at British themed pub with a lively crowd of young Japanese with a few foreigners and ex-pats mixed in. It made for good people watching. One employee working the opened door entry gleefully shouted a greeting alerting the attentive staff whenever someone walked in. Guys with dolled up dates, two young backpacker girls in flip flops, trendy hipsters, a strange man with tight stripped shorts and young guy friend, an overzealous American in conversation with a coolly articulate Brit. Uncomfortable singles sat head bent over the comfort of smart phone sending out meaningless texts but most of all everything was very Japanese was British motif for fun.

The Guinness isn’t cheap but they now how to pour. Order at the bar and they give you a numbered card with tall metal stand for your table like your ordering a pizza. It’s delivered when they are done properly pouring it. In Japan tipping at bars is not expected but you still get the best service you’re going to find anywhere.

Sunday found me walking around as an umbrella toting tourist visiting Nijo Castle which was quite good. From there it was off to Tenryuji Temple which wasn’t overly impressive to me. I paid 500 Yen and followed a crowd like I was at a circus side show to see the Tenryu-ji Cloud Dragon. It’s a painted mural covering a ceiling. Although the painting was good I was little disappointed to find out the original was long gone and what I was looking at was painted in 1997. However, the way the Dragon’s eyes follow you around the room like they are always staring directly at you makes it kind of novel. Like a sideshow. By time I got back to my accommodation in the evening the rain really started to pound so I kicked back and took it easy.

If you hit the trains right it only takes about an hour to get to Nara from where I am staying. This morning I hit it wrong and it took almost two hours. Once there, a good three mile walking loop starting at the station will take you past about everything you want to see. The big draw to Nara for me was Todai-Ji Temple with its giant Buddha and I was not disappointed. The temple with its entrance is quite impressive. It stands over a 150 feet high with a width of over 185 feet. It’s all constructed out of heavy thick hewn wood. It was constructed in 1709 and is a rebuilt version of the original that was considerably larger. It houses a Buddha that sits almost 50 feet tall. However, I was most impressed by the building and its architecture. Every now and then I’ll visit a place that at first site gives the senses a bit of a jolt and really grabs me. Todai-ji does it for me. It’s the best I’ve seen thus far in Japan.

Tomorrow will be an interesting day. I’ll be meeting up with an older Japanese gentleman who I met 5 years while walking the Camino de Santiago across Spain and have kept in touch with via Facebook. He lives not far from Kyoto and we are meeting at 8 am. He’s got some good ideas in store so it will be interesting to see what we wind up seeing. Most of all it will be great to catch up with a Camino Amigo.