Today was the last day of our tour. It was supposed to be a free day but
we spent the morning touring two places on our agenda not covered yesterday. Our
Japan Rail Pass ran out yesterday so our guide gave us a day pass for the city
bus system. The transportation system in Kyoto isn't as extensive as Tokyo's. It's been
awhile since I rode a crowded stop and start city bus and I'm glad it's not a
regular feature of my life.
Our first stop was at Kiyomizu-dera, a Buddhist temple that is a World Heritage
Site. The grounds are quite extensive, the primary features being a beautiful
red pagoda and a main hall building.
It is located on a hillside and the views
are fabulous.
Jishu Shrine is also located on the property. It is a shrine
dedicated to the god of love and "good matches". I rubbed both of the
‘love stones’ just for the heck of it!
Below, there are 3 different fountains
which promise long life and happiness to those who wash with the water.
The fall colours were spectacular.
We then walked through several touristy crowded streets to the Chion-in
temples.
Enroute, a young girl noticed the Canadian flag on my backpack. Turns
out she was from Toronto, teaching English here for 3 years. We also met a
small group of schoolchildren who wanted our help with a project, who we were
and where we were from. They were very friendly and the interaction was fun.
Chion-in is home to Japan's largest temple bell, commissioned in 1633 and
weighing 74 tons. It requires a twenty-five man team to sound it.
There were
many, many stairs and I climbed to the top of a shrine offering wisdom to all
who climbed. We shall see!
By then it was lunch and I had a small bowl of shredded chicken with rice.
There was an almost raw egg on the top of it that I wasn't expecting! That got
set aside :(
I returned to Kyoto station on my own by bus and set off in search of a
particular store for some souvenir shopping. I wasted quite a bit of time
navigating, even with Google Maps, and I found very little I was interested
in.
Soon it was time to catch the train to my appointment at Kyo-Yuzen‘s for my
'pattern painting'. I had one heckuva time locating where to go in the station
and nearly had a meltdown. It is HUGE! Sometimes travel sucks! Finally after
asking 4 people, I found where to board and arrived at the studio in plenty of
time.
There was a large class of tourists already working but the staff welcomed me,
gave me some catalogues to look at, then showed me what to do. I chose to put
bamboo and ginkgo leaves on a fabric pencil holder.
Then I did a wall hanging
of a geisha, a Torii gate and some fall leaves. Soon I was the only one working
in the large room and thought I should quit. But they said no rush, they didn't
close until 7 pm. I was in 'the zone' and truly loved the experience!
They had
a wonderful gift shop and I also purchased a black and gold change purse as
well as a tablecloth. I had been looking for one all over Japan. I could never
find one until now.
The train trip back to Kyoto Station went well, with the kind assistance of a
local.
Then I met the group for our farewell dinner. We went to a nearby mall
and had a buffet. It was quite unremarkable but no one went hungry.
There were
speeches and thank yous, and we said our good byes. I went over to the station
to see where to go tomorrow morning so I feel much better about that now.
22,230 today! That's a record!!!
