December 14, 2012
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Kyoto Kinkaku-ji.
The sun was out and shining bright. The weather was at a cool temperament at 9AM. Two bright beautiful smiles welcomed me at the lobby of my hotel to take me out on a date. I have previously requested them that Kinkaku-ji is a must, as I have not had the chance to go there on my previous visit to Kyoto back in 2007. And so Kinkaku-ji is where they were taking me.
On my right, she had on a deep pink wool sweater to compliment her dark blue jeans. On my left, she had on a red scarf around her tiny neck to compliment her khaki trench coat. Me in the middle, had on a black light polyester jacket, over a checkered flannel shirt underneath with pale maroon lines, to warm myself from the slight autumn morning chill. From a far, we looked like a perfect threesome straight out from a fashion catalog. With a couple of smiling ladies by my sides, I felt the day was going to be a good day.
We hopped on a taxi to get to Kinkaku-ji Temple. ‘Kinkaku’ means The Golden Pavilion. It is one of the most famous tourist sites in Kyoto and has been registered as a World Cultural Heritage Site since 1994. It is one of my most desired places in Japan to visit. Not because of the beauty of the place, which is worth going for, but because I am a fan of Yukio Mishima. A Japanese writer whom made himself famous in the literature world through his many writings. One of them is a book called “The Temple of the Golden Pavilion”, which loosely based on Kinkaku-ji Temple. Mishima was a famous actor, director, writer, and political activist who in 1970 committed a ‘seppuku’ or ‘hara-kiri’. He did so as an act of protest against the nation for migrating away from old traditions and values, and this is what he mostly remembered for.
Kinkaku-ji is located in the outskirt of downtown Kyoto and just a few blocks away from the nearest train station. Upon arrival, a crowd of tourists could be seen entering the property. The many colors of ‘momiji’, or red leaves, can be seen lined along the pathway, leading inside, to the ticket booth and entrance to the temple. The entry ticket was a large rectangular piece of paper with Japanese characters and stamps on it. It is equivalent to a protection prayer that one may post on the wall. Nearby, a map of the area displayed the vast landscape of the temple and the exact location of the golden pavilion.
As we arrived at the main area inside the property, we came across a large pond garden, with the golden pavilion located on the far side. The whole pavilion is covered in yellow gold leaves. It is intended to give a grandness to the sight, and what a sight it was. Everyone was lining up along the side of the pond to take pictures, and we all had to take our turns as there were too many tourists around. Beyond the pond, we walked through a huge area of temple garden that seemed to depict a hike in a forest. There were trees everywhere displaying the colors of foliage. Paths leading to an upper ground brought us to small shrines and to finally, a tea house.
This particular tea house has a large open-air seating area, right beneath the trees. The seating area is mainly several single piece of low and wide wooden benches covered in bright red cloth. One merely just have to seat on the edge of the bench awaiting for a wait staff in kimono uniform to bring along a set of matcha and wagashi, which is the only thing available on the menu. Everyone pays the same price and gets the same set of the day. The matcha was freshly whipped, and the day’s wagashi came in adorned with a couple of specks of gold leaves, giving a grand feeling to the sweet, assimilating the grandness of the pavilion.
The unexpected setting of the tea house area is very much a welcoming addition to my day. Not only did I get to enjoy the traditional matcha and wagashi that I have learned to love during this trip, but to enjoy them in Kyoto and under the ‘momiji’ colored trees, was an added bonus. My premonition was right. The day turned out nice. My two beautiful traveling companions must had been my good luck charms. And they were such a pleasure to have around.
Comments (14)
I could use a week or two retreat there!!
Ah those temples and the LEAVES!!!
While I was visiting the palaces in Seoul I can't help but imagine myself living during those times.
love this post. i was fortunate to visit the golden pavilion during my study abroad program a few years back in december. the pavilion was a sight to see huh? def different.
Looks like a place I would like to visit for a long time.
Beautiful !! I'd like to visit someday!!
Looks so peaceful! Love the pic with the building reflecting in the water!
magnificent colors. Loved the post. Thank you for posting it Rudy.
It's just as beautiful as I remembered it. The fall colours are so lovely. You picked a great time to visit.
What beautiful pictures ! I love the fall colours and seeing how natural and clean everything looks. It's definitely a place I would love to have an opportunity to see and take many pictures there myself one day. It's great that you've been able to share your trip with such wonderful company and that you are not only taking in the beautiful scenery, but the great food and history as well. You are definitely taking full advantage of everything you can and enjoying everything to the fullest extent possible !
Enjoy the remainder of your trip. Take care and I'll talk to you later, bye for now.
Kyle
@CurryPuffy - @buddy71 - @Fatcat723 - the next time i visit, i would try to make it in a different season. right now kyoto is all white due to snow and judging from pics that i have seen, it's equally impressive.
@oxyGENE_08 - yeah, the LEAVES!! indeed. i prefer the autumn season over any other season hands down.
@radio03 - thank you. i am so glad to get a chance to finally visit this temple. the next time i'm in kyoto, i'll try to visit the SILVER pavilion. i heard it's all dark in color now, due to real silver changes color over time, but the garden is supposedly equally nice.
@brooklyn2028 - thank you, sheldon. yes, the tourists have always been prohibited from getting close to the pond and so the water is always very still, to provide the impressive reflection of the pavilion.
@ZSA_MD - you very welcome, zakiah. and thank you for the rec. i was going to post more pics of kyoto food but decided at last minute to go against it and focus more on this temple instead, considering i have included enough food pics on my last two posts.
@ElusiveWords - i certainly did, matt. i purposely decided to stay in kyoto during my free weekend there, instead of in tokyo or osaka, for this very reason. the nature there is far better than in the big cities.
@kyle061685 - thanks, kyle. i tried my best to fully enjoy my weekend there. too bad it was only a weekend, though. i could easily stay in kyoto for at least a week if i wasn't bound to the business trip.
look like a nice place
Thank you! I love Japanese incenses, and one is called "Kyoto Autumn Leaves". These photos help to put an image in my mind when thinking about the scent! I can see how such beauty could inspire one to create an incense in homage to it. It's made by Shoyeido, and they have lots of great scents. The Kyoto Autumn Leaves is best in blends. Two of those, two Moss Garden, and one Plum Blossom or Orchid w/ Sandalwood makes a blend that produces the most pleasant, calming scent I've ever smelled. Thanks for the pics and the narrative. Sounds like an enviable day by anyone's standards! Peace
@rudyhou - i have seen photos in various seasons and it always seems to be special.
@dmcx2010 - yes it was very nice indeed. thanks for the rec. much appreciated
@AOK4WAY - you very welcome. it's my pleasure. glad you enjoyed it. i have seen those Shoyeido incense sticks but didn't get any. in my past trip to kyoto i did get some of a different brand and with various smells. very nice.
@buddy71 - yes, japan is a great place to be at any season. i just can't get enough of the foliage since we don't get them here where i live.