Japan: Kinkaku-ji, Kyomizu Dera and Gion Corner show

Date: 23rd March, 2015

After returning from Fushimi Inari-tasiha, I took the train to Kiatoji station and from there I inquired how to get to Kinaku-ji temple. Fortunately there is a tourism help desk with an English-speaking staff to assist, and I was instructed to take bus 204.

Kitaoji bus station Kyoto Japan — The bus bays are like this. Each door is reserved for specific buses, and it only opens when the bus has arrived at the door.

Bus 204 to Kinakuji Kyoto Japan — I had to wait around 10 minutes for the 204

Inside Kyoto bus 204 Japan — The bus fare was ¥230 (₹120/$1.8/€1.7)

Kinakuji entrance Kyoto Japan — From the bus stop, you have to walk for at least 10 minutes to get to the ticket counter

Kinakuji ticket booklet Kyoto Japan — The entry fee to Kinaku-ji costs ¥400 (₹215/$3.26/€3)

Kinakuji panorama Kyoto Japan — As you enter the main grounds, you can see the Kinaku-ji temple in the distance

Kinakuji reflection pond Kyoto Japan — I swapped lenses and took a close up shot of the Golden pavilion

Kinakuji golden temple Kyoto Japan — The Kinaku-ji is one of the most famous Zen Buddhism shrines in all of Japan. Iconic due to its golden exterior and its location in a pond.

Temple inside Kinakuji Kyoto Japan — That said, there were other structures inside the compound. These were the living quarters of the priests. It’s off limits for tourists.

Kinakuji zen buddhism temple Japan — I couldn’t stop myself from photographing the Golden temple of Kyoto

Kinakuji shrine lake Kyoto Japan — I walked around the pond to get a closer look

Japan tree leaves Kyoto — Japan has a lot of these trees, especially at spiritual places. Any idea what they are called?

Trees Kinakuji lake Kyoto Japan — They’re all around

Kinaku-ji back Kyoto Japan — From the back. I guess tourists are not allowed inside the pavilion.

Golden rooster atop Kinakuji Kyoto — I don’t know what this golden rooster is meant to symbolize

Kinakuji shrine pond Kyoto Japan — Very serene surroundings

Throwing coins Kyoto Japan — Ahh, the usual ‘toss a coin at the right spot for good luck’ game

Hello Kitty Kinakuji booth Kyoto — Hello Kitty Kinaku-ji merchandise

Shrine rope bell Kyoto Japan — Tourists were trying to ring the bell by swinging this heavy rope

Leaving Kinaku-ji steps Kyoto Japan — That was it. I left the compound after spending half an hour inside.

I walked back to the bus station and since I only knew where bus 204 would take me, I boarded the same to head back.

Izumiya Kyoto road Japan — But as the bus rode along, I was realized it was taking a full circle and would take a long time to return to Kitaoji station

So I got down at a bus stop… honestly, I don’t know where. I walked to the nearest train station after opening up Google Maps on my phone and figured out how to get to Kawaramachi station from there.

Subway pillars Kyoto Japan — I don’t even remember the name of this station

By the time I was out of Kawaramachi station, it was nearing 4:30 PM. Fearing I would be late to enter Kiyomizu Dera, I decided to take a taxi there.

Kyoto taxi ride from backseat Japan — Taxis are quite expensive but I didn’t want to waste time trying to figure out how to get to Kiyomizu Dera

It was a short ride, at the most 10 minutes, but it still cost me ¥940 (₹500/$7.6/€7.1).

Tourists Higashiyama district Kyoto — I walked my way up through the many street-lined shops leading up to Kiyomizu Dera

Higashiyama uphill Kyoto Japan — I was in Higashiyama district and a few sakura trees were beginning to bloom here

Higashiyama shops uphill Kyoto Japan — There was still some walking to do from where I was dropped off

Entrance Kiyomizu dera Kyoto Japan — This is the entrance to Kiyomizu dera

Buddhist pagoda Kyoto Japan — More steps. There is an entry fee of ¥300.

Japanese women Kimono Kyoto Japan — Many women in kimonos, although not all of them are Japanese. I also saw a few Chinese and Korean tourists dressed up in kimonos too.

Renovation work Kiyomizu Dera Kyoto — There seemed to be renovation work going on at Kiyomizu Dera

Kiyomizu Dera shrine Kyoto tourism — Kiyomizu Dera is Kyoto’s most famous and one of the oldest Buddhist temples

Kiyomizu Dera wooden pillars Kyoto — Like many old temples in Japan, it too is made entirely of wood

Kiyomizu Dera prayer hall Kyoto — This is the main prayer hall

Viewpoint Kiyomizu Dera panorama Kyoto — A panorama from the main prayer hall

Kiyomizu Dera steps Japan — Kiyomizu Dera is also home to other smaller shrines, like this one honouring Okuninushi, the god of love

Okuninushi no Mikoto Kyoto Japan — That’s a statue of Okuninushi-no Mikoto

Lifting stone Kiyomizu dera Kyoto — So this spot is popular among younger folk who try many things like lift a heavy stone in hopes of earning good luck in finding love and good fortune in life

Kiyomizu Dera torii Kyoto Japan — I decided to head there

Tourists Kiyomizu Dera winter Japan — A lot of tourists were catching the sunset from here

Kiyomizudera shrine Kyoto Japan — This angle would have been far more beautiful had the tree fully bloomed

Kiyomizu Dera walkway Kyoto — I walked further

Pagoda Kiyomizu Dera viewpoint — From this viewpoint you can see the whole of Kiyomizu Dera

Kiyomizu Dera panorama Kyoto — A panorama of the entire complex

Trees Kiyomizu Dera temple Japan — I had seen enough and decided leave the other way that leads out to the same entrance/exit

Kiyomizu Dera wooden pillar structure Kyoto — The entire temple structure stands on a network of wooden pillars, which now has metal support to strengthen it

Hello Kitty shop Kyoto Japan — I was back on the shop-lined street

Green tea cream filled pastry Japan — I saw this pastry being filled with green tea cream. So I bought one to taste. It was alright.

Japanese traditional dress in park — Passed by a small park where people were capturing whichever flowers had bloomed

Pink sakura flowers Kyoto Japan — This sakura tree was a darker shade of pink

Pedicab puller Kyoto Japan — Pulled rickshaws are for hire to tourists in this part of Kyoto

Sunset Kyoto traditional Japan — Lovely isn’t it?

Toji temple Japanese tourists Kyoto — I found myself back near Toji Temple… and just like yesterday, it was closed by the time I got near it. Ugh.

Yasaka shrine temple Kyoto — I walked all the way back and found myself at Yasaka shrine

Kyoto Shijo street Japan — The shrine was at the end of Shijo street

Crab leg sticks Kyoto Japan — Inside the shrine grounds was this vendor selling crab sticks. It was cold, this was hot. So I knew what I had to do.

Crab stick street food Kyoto — It was pretty pricey (¥500) for what it actually turned out to be. He advertised it as crab leg meat. What it actually tasted like was your usual mock crab meat that is made using surimi.

I was pretty tired from all the sightseeing, but while walking through Shijo Street, I thought I’d just check out Gion at night. I found myself at Gion Corner and went in just to see if tickets were still available for the cultural show. They were, and although I was on two minds over it, I decided to just go for it and sat down for the cultural show. But all that in the next post.

Next post in the series:

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Gion Corner Cultural Show

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Bamboo Forest in Arashiyama

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Monkey Park in Arashiyama

Japan 2015: Kyoto Station, and arriving at Himeji by shinkansen

Japan 2015: Himeji Castle, and the unexpected air show

Japan 2015: Nadagiku Shuzo Sake Brewery, leaving Himeji for Tokyo — and my last bullet train ride

Japan 2015: Nakamise street, Senso-ji temple, and Ueno Park sakura at half-bloom

Japan 2015: Ueno Zoo – pandas, a lonely polar bear, and more

Japan 2015: Shibuya – the busiest crossing in the world, and home to a loyal dog

Japan 2015: Nishi-Shinjuku — views from Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building sky deck

Japan 2015: Shopping in Shinjuku, and Kabukicho