A visitation with Mother Kyoto

Atsui des ne! (It's so hot!) I heard a lot of this yesterday. I'd been warned that Kyoto was really hot in August but I can't say that it was any hotter than Nagoya. Osaka definitely felt hotter. Though that could be because I was under the direct sunlight the entire time.

So, if Osaka is Nagoya's try-hard flashy sister, then Kyoto is definitely their quintessential Japanese mother: desperately trying to keep up with the trends but on the inside still clinging to traditional Japanese values. I went to Kyoto because it's one of the top three must see destinations in Japan (Osaka, Tokyo, Kyoto). Plus I have an unlimited train ticket, so why the heck not?

Kyoto is supposed to be the heart and soul of Japan, old-style like what we see in movies. But when I arrived at Kyoto station it was as if I'd gotten off at the wrong stop. The station is a monolith of modern architecture, all arching metallic beams and clean lines. Certainly not what I as expecting but pretty cool.
I headed straight for Kiyo-mizu dera temple (Pure Water temple). The roads of Kyoto are well-signed and easy to follow. They're set on a grid structure unlike the hodge podge of streets in other cities. So, I didn't get lost in Kyoto either. Woo, maybe my sense of direction is coming back to me.

Although I doubt I could have gotten lost even if I wanted to. There were so many tourists following the same path that I really just had to follow the tide. I immediately decided to ditch the crowd and followed a path up to a gorgeous shrine. Then I took the back road up to Kiyo-mizu. The back road was actually an uphill hike through Toribeyama cemetery. All the tombs were so immaculately kept and dignified looking it wasn't as creepy as cemeteries usually are. All the tombs clung to the clopes overlooking the city, talk about prime real estate for the dead. That hill would look even more spectacular in Autumn or Spring when all those trees changed. The hike up that hill was gorgeous even if it did leave me dripping with sweat.

When I got to Kiyo-mizu I followed the crowd again and took a bunch of pictures. I tried to take a few with me in them but since I didn't exactly have a range of angles to choose from they all look like mugshots.

Kiyo-mizu was like a huge national park full of temples and shrines. It was wonderful because when I got up there a breeze set in. whew! There were so many different paths and hillsides to explore. There was a waterfall from which the temple derives its name, Pure Water.


As it trickles down the spouts you can catch the water in long metal cups and take a sip. It was gloriously cold stuff. The water is said to bring one of the following: long life, wisdom or beauty. Since I don't feel any wiser and I know I'm looking a little the worse for wear, I guess this means I've increased my lifespan.


It really was a beautiful temple. The main hall with its wooden balcony that lets you peer across the entirety of the city was constructed in the traditional Japanese method: without using a single nail!



I went down 'teapot lane' on my way out. It was a cobbled, winding street of market stalls selling souvenirs, ceramics and ice-cream. There were also these man-drawn hackneys lugging tourists up and down those hills. Those guys must have legs of steel to make it up those hills carrying those carriages. Not to mention the stamina they must have to survive the heat.



The people wearing yukatas looked like they truly belonged in Higashiyama (the temple/shrine area of Kyoto). Higashiyama is what foreigners expect Japan to look like. Cobbled streets, temples and shrines on every corner, tiny curving alleys, trees bursting with blossoms, people clip-cloppping in their yukatas and wooden sandals just make it seem all the more like the mystical Land of the Rising Sun.

But like anything that lives up to a stereotype it has become clotted with tourists. The chattering crowds and constantly flashing cameras certainly contradict the peace and tranquility one generally associates with temples and shrines.

I really enjoyed wadering off the well-trodden and Lonely Planet recommended tourist routes. At one point I climbed up a set of intriguing looking stairs expecting to find a park or something equally pretty. When I got up to the top I was faced with a...car park. To say I was disappointed was a mega understatement.

Then I looked up and saw a towering statue of Quan-Yin (the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy). It was awe-inspiring. It was really peaceful to see her beautiful and serene face smiling down on me.


Then I headed for Gion where Maikos (geishas in training) and Geishas are said to roam. Since the number of maiko and gesiha have rapidly declined in recent years I wasn't actually expecting to see any. But I actually caught sight of two clip clopping down the alley of teahouses, giggling away.
Past the cobbled streets and teahouses, Gion city is where Kyoto's wrinkles are starting to show. It's looking a little rundown and cheesy.







I had to cross the bridge over Kawa river to get to Potoncho-dori and I noticed a family playing in the water. So of course I decided I had to get in on the action. I've become such a water baby since coming to Japan. I love it every time it rains and whenever I see a body of water I feel the urge to run head long into it and splash about. The water was absolutely gloriously, clear and cool. As I as crossing the river, I lost one of my thongs. The image of my foot-imprinted thong floating down the river was so comical I wanted to take a picture. But I knew that actually saving my thong was more important so I chased after it. Thank goodness there was a couple ahead and the man fished my thong out for me. Ahh, blessed be the kindness of strangers.

Potoncho-dori is a tiny little cobbled alley that reminds me of Melbourne's laneways and acts as the nightlife artery of the Kyoto region. It's glutted with bars, clubs and restaurants and has a real night owl vibe about it. I can just imagine it bursting into like as the night descends.

By early evening I was so hot and tired from my hiking that I decided to stroll back to the station. I am still taken aback whenever I see the buddhist sign around Japan. It looks to me like a swastika which is such a tabboo sign in Western countries but I have to keep reminding myself that it's actually the symbol for buddhism.