Spring Break Day Three: Senbon Torii, Shake Shack & Samurai Museum
On the morning of Monday, March 28th, Katie and I packed up and checked out of our Hiroshima hotel and made our way to the train station for our Shinkansen to Kyoto. The Shinkansen from Hiroshima to Kyoto took about two hours and we arrived at Kyoto Station around noon. This hotel also started the check-in process at 3:00 pm, so we left our duffle bag behind and made off to explore Kyoto, the former capital of Japan from 794 to 1868.
After dropping off our bag, our first stop was at the Fushimi Inari Shrine, famously known for its 1,000 torii gates. I know we aren't quite professional photographers, but hopefully, you'll recognize this famous area from an old National Geographic or a "Japan" stock photo.
You will notice the fox statues that guard this shrine. The Fushimi Inari Shrine is dedicated to the god of good harvest, and foxes are glorified because they keep the mice population at bay, further improving the success of grain harvests! Katie and I seriously thought these were Hugo statues at first- I mean, he deserves a shrine of his own- and he has a similar physique to the Japanese fox (apparently!)
When they say 1,000 torii gates, they actually meant 1,000,000, because that's how it felt. They built these torii gates along a path up a mountain, so Katie and I decided to make the hike to see them all. I would say we made it around 2/3 of the way when we were both winded and getting hangry. At least we made it to the main overlook of Kyoto; we were also able to see the shrine at the bottom of the mountain. Now we have to walk all the way back down those steps to find food...ugh! While we were hot, sweaty and verging on a hunger strike, we were amazed at the repetitive beauty of walking under one thousand tori gates. It was a a cool place and one of the most unique shrines we have visited in the past year!
When we finally found food, boy was it worth it! Katie and I had planned to eat at Shake Shack prior to leaving for this trip, but man did we time it right! After hiking up a mountain, we had earned a double cheeseburger, with fries, and custard. Katie and I both ordered the SmokeShack burger, with one set of regular fries and one set of cheese fries; Katie got a coffee shake and I got the Kyoto CookieCrete. The burgers were awesome, we should have ordered two sets of cheese fries, Katie's shake was really good, and my cookie concrete was not what I was expecting, but still very good. When the Japanese say "cookie crete" they aren't offering you Oreos; they are offering you a "matcha cookie crete." Apparently, matcha, a type of green tea, is extremely popular in Kyoto, so my CookieCrete was matcha flavored; not my favorite, but when have I ever been known to turn down ice cream!
All I can say is we have missed a good American burger! That food was well worth the Shrine Climb we did just an hour before!
After our early dinner, Katie and I headed over to the Samurai and Ninja Museum; we started off by donning a ninja headband, learning a little bit about these secretive assassins and the weapons they used, then taking a crack at throwing some ninja stars. Safe to say neither of us were very good, but we had a great time competing against one another!
Take a look at this video we got of us throwing some ninja stars; are we only standing a few feet away? Maybe. Are we still unable to hit the bullseye? Sure. If you think it's so easy, why don't you give it a try?!?!
After throwing our ninja stars, we headed to a different section of the museum and got to put on some Samurai gear; they even trusted us with swords! They obviously haven't met us, they should know not to trust us with sharp objects.
We learned many cool facts about the differences between samurai and ninjas and the importance of samurai throughout Japanese history. For many years (1192-1867), the leader of the samurai, known as the Shogun, was actually the leader of Japan. The emperor was just a figurehead at the time- all the real power was held by the Shogun; obviously, the man with the most swords was in control. In 1867, Shogun Tokugawa Keiki surrendered control of the country to Emperor Meiji; shortly after Emperor Meiji abolished the samurai order. This power transfer officially ended the samurai era.
We also saw that Thomas Blake Glover, whose home we visited in Nagasaki, was indirectly involved in toppling the Shogunate government by supplying advanced weapons. This museum was really cool, interactive, and informative and I would recommend it to anyone visiting Kyoto.
After leaving the museum, Katie and I made a pit stop along the way because we found a Disney store. We didn't buy anything this time, but it's always fun just to walk around and listen to the Disney songs and see the vast differences between an American Disney store and a Japanese Disney Store (no pins!)
After our short visit to the Disney Store, we made it to Bee's Knees, a speakeasy on the east side of Kyoto. This was a super cool place, but man were the drinks expensive. Katie got the Bee's Knees, because why not, it's named after the place. I got the Smoked Mojito, not really knowing what made it smoked, but heck, let's give it a shot.
Well, if you're like me and want to know what makes a drink "smoked," then wonder no more; check out the video below to find out! Super cool!
Katie and I each decided to only get one drink because that place was expensive; we're more on the, "let's pay $5 at 7-11 for chuhais," type of budget. It doesn't take much to make us happy, but its also fun to splurge and enjoy a cool experience every once in awhile- and the Bees Knees was just that! After leaving the bar, we decided it was time to make our way back to the hotel and call it a night.
Along the way, we found some beautifully lit sakura (cherry blossom) trees along a canal, so we had to stop and grab pictures. While we didn't plan to visit Kyoto during the cherry blossom blooming, we were lucky enough to experience one of Japan's largest cities in the peak of this beautiful season! After the impromptu photo session, we hopped on a bus and made it back to our hotel around 8:00 pm. Time to rest up and be prepared to go again tomorrow!
Spring Break Day Four: Kinkaku-ji, Kitanotenmangu Shrine & Kiyomizu-Dera Temple
On Tuesday morning, March 29th, Katie and I got up in excitement for our tour with the Good Samaritan Club, a group of university students in Kyoto who give free tours of historical sites and other popular areas to English-speaking people. It's a really awesome experience for both the students and the tourists; they get to practice their English, while we get a tour for next to nothing. All you have to do is pay for their entry fees and for their transportation during the tour.
Along the way to our first stop, Kinkaku-ji, Katie and I decided to grab a good ol' American breakfast before hopping on the train. There is a McDonald's in Kyoto Station, so we grabbed a couple of McMuffins and some hashbrowns and we were off. We weren't sure when we would have a chance for lunch, so we wanted to make sure we had a little fuel to get us going!
Our first stop was at Kinkaku-ji, or the Golden Pavilion, where we met up with our tour guides Tamaki (female) and Kazuya (male), two second-year students at Kyoto University. They really impressed us from the get-go; their English was amazing and they had notebooks with pictures and information that really helped explain the history of the Pavilion.
The Golden Pavilion was completed in 1397 by the shogun Yoshimitsu, but it was converted to a Zen temple following his death in 1408. Unfortunately, Kinkaku-ji has burned down multiple times since then and the current structure was completed in 1955. The bottom floor is built in the Shinden style, similar to that of Japanese palaces. This first floor represents the working class farmers and fishermen. The second floor has a gilded exterior and is built in the Bukke style used in Samari homes; meaning it was more decorated and represented the next level of Japanese hierarchy at the time- the samurais. The top floor has a gilded interior and exterior and is built in the style of a Chinese Zen Hall, and represents the highest powers: the gods and sometimes thought to represent the shogun himself. (Clearly he thought a lot about himself!) The entire second and third floors of this pavilion are covered in 24 karat gold leaf, so this was a pretty amazing place to see!
After taking in the views of the Pavilion, we walked around the Zen gardens with our new Japanese friends; along the way we met an elderly gentleman who helped to repair the pavilion back in 1987. He was also a part of the team that helped repair the largest torii gate in Kyoto, so we added that place to our list so we could check that out later in the afternoon.
After our trip to Kinkaku-ji, we headed over to Kitanotenmangu Shrine, where the god of study is enshrined; apparently many high school and college students come here to pray before exams. Tamaki and Kazuya had seen that Katie was a school librarian on her Facebook page, so they thought it would be cool for her to come to a shrine that is special to students in Kyoto. It was super thoughtful of them to plan like that!
They taught us so many cool things about the shrine; for starters, we learned that it's customary to bow, out of respect, before walking through the torii gate. We also learned that according to Japanese mythology, the god of study was very fond of cows, so there are multiple cow statues around the shrine. One cow specifically was very attached to the god, and when the god was banished from Kyoto, the cow stayed awake looking for the god. After years of never sleeping, legend has it his eyes turned red from exhaustion. When we entered the shrine, the largest cow statue has red eyes, to depict this folk tale.
Tamaki explained the procedure for praying at a temple, and then she participated to show us. Traditionally there are bells that you would ring prior to praying, but due to COVID, most shrines have removed these bells. Tamaki and Kazuya explained that you:
1. ring the bell to wake the god
2. bow twice to show respect and say "I'm sorry for waking you,"
3. clap twice to show you have no weapon and that you are not a danger
4. you pray
5. bow at the end to say "Thank you."
I've seen many people pray at shrines before, but I see it in a new light now that I understand this tradition.
Within the shrine, there is also a stone lantern that represents the god of money; if you're able to make a pebble from the walkway stay in his mouth you'll be blessed with good fortune. Katie was able to get a stone to stay in its mouth, now I'm just waiting on that bank account to grow!
All joking aside, Katie and I both couldn't stop talking about how much we learned from our tour guides! This lantern legend doesn't have a sign or any recognition- its just a tradition passed down through the generations- so we were humbled and thankful to have the opportunity to learn from Tamaki and Kazuya!
After our visit to the shrine, Tamaki and Kazuya kindly walked us to the nearest bus station and made sure we got on the right bus to our next destination. They were super awesome and Katie and I would recommend the Good Samaritan Club to anyone planning to visit Kyoto! We were super excited to see how our next tour would go in a couple of days.
Here's a video of us struggling to put stones in the god's mouth!
Once on the bus, Katie and I headed back into the heart of the city for lunch at Que Pasa. This was an awesome burrito restaurant, and it absolutely hit the Mexican food spot that we didn't realize we were missing! Katie got a regular burrito and I, thinking it would be a Japanese portion, got a king burrito; that was a mistake...boy was that way too much burrito. We also got some chips and guac as well as a margarita each. Wow, this place was good!
After lunch, we waddled over to the Heian Jingu shrine, where the largest torii gate in Kyoto is located; it's so big it has a street running beneath it. This was the shrine that the older man mentioned he repaired before he retired a few years ago. Again, making our tour that much more meaningful!
Along the way, we stopped to take some pictures with the blooming sakuras.
After seeing the torii gate and hearing me yawn for the thirtieth time of the afternoon, Katie decided it was time to grab some coffee. So we stopped at a Starbucks and kept on trucking down to Maruyama Park. We found an art museum nearby but decided not to stop; sorry Mrs. Cindy, we got a picture outside though! We also made some stops to take pictures of the beautiful sakura and another pretty shrine along the way. If you haven't noticed yet, Kyoto is famous for all their historic temples and shrines!
After walking a few more kilometers through the Gion shopping district, we headed towards the historical Higashiyama District. The narrow lanes, the wooden buildings, and the open-air shops gave us a feel of what it must have been like when Kyoto was the capital hundreds of years ago. One of the things Katie had planned for us in this area was to hit a really cool Starbucks; we walked into this machiya, or Japanese wooden townhouse, we instantly smelled the coffee and decided we should get a second cup. Don't judge our caffeine intake on this trip. Every cup was necessary!
We ordered a frappucino, found a spot in one of the tatami rooms on the second floor, and sat to enjoy our shared beverage in this 100-year-old converted tea house! We both agree, this is the coolest Starbucks we have ever visited!
After enjoying our second coffee of the afternoon, we walked up the hill to Kiyomizu-dera, a beautiful temple on the eastern mountains of Kyoto with some stunning views. We decided to stay here until sunset so we could get some great photos. The views here were spectacular, and I'm glad we got there when we did because we noticed they were charging people to enter the shrine at night! Great timing! (We later learned that this shrine is only opened for nighttime hours for a two-month window. We just lucked out with visiting during that time!)
Sitting at this shrine as the sun set was probably my favorite part of our entire trip. Sitting with my wife, talking about our life and watching a beautiful sunset; it doesn't get any better than that! (Just look at the pictures below! Stunning at sunset and once it got dark!)
Fun fact we learned from our earlier tour guides: the komainu, lion-dog statues, behind me in the first photo both have their mouths open. At most shrines, one komainu has their mouth open saying the Sanskrit alphabet "a" sound, while the other komainu has a closed mouth to symbolize the final alphabet sound "um." These lion-dogs are supposed to represent the beginning and end of life.
EXCEPT: at this shrine, we were told that both their mouths are open because the komainu were out of breath after climbing the hills to get to this shrine! Take it or leave it, that's what we were told!
After it got dark, we headed to the nearest subway station to head back to the hotel. I, unfortunately, sent us to a station that was a little bit of a hike from the hotel, but oh well. While we were walking, we saw a Christian church with a lit up cross along a river. It reminded us how much God has blessed us with this life and we're thankful to be exploring this beautiful country over 7,000 miles away from our friends and family.
Just wait til you see what all we did during our last two days in Kyoto! Katie will update you soon!
Yours,
Bryan
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