Day 3: The Path of Philosophy
The stay starts off ambitiously. Still unable to sleep in past 3, I get dressed and take a train to the imperial palace. The palace itself is still closed, but the par, which circles the palace, provides a beautiful tour of lush greenery. I walk slowly, enjoying the cool shade, and take note of the few people in the park: joggers, dog walkers, cyclists and a few others. Two old men sit on a park bench, discussing what I can only assume to be the latest neighborhood gossip.
The park is still very quiet and peaceful. I’m certain that in a few hours, the park will be filled with tourists wanting to see the imperial palace. As I stroll, I quickly realize that I underestimated the size of the park. I enjoy the scenery, and realize how few trees Colorado has, even in our parks. I wonder if, in my old age, I will move somewhere that is overgrown with life in the same way as this park. Finding my way back on Imadegawa Street, I head toward Ginkakuji, or the Silver Pavilion.
The walk to Ginkakuji is long, but I don’t mind, since the weather is still cool and there is plenty to see. I pass Kyoto University on my right, and enter Hyakumanban Chion-ji Temple on my right. This Buddhist ground contains a marvelous stella, and an engraved bell that is now forbidden to ring. On the north side of the temple, I come across a cemetery. At the entrance is a sign for a stone smith, for those wanting quality grave stones. Two things become immediately clear; several of the graves have been visited very recently, and it is the most crowded cemetery I’ve ever seen. The still blooming flowers next to the graves symbolize perfectly the cycle of samsara, or the never ending circle of reincarnation. As I walk between the narrow rows, with barely enough room to maneuver, I fix a few flowers that have blown over. Most of the gravestones are simple stone tablets or pillars with family names written on them. Some of the families have their crests carved into the stone. The most notable markers, though, are those with the chiseled image of the Buddha. After walking between each and every row, I decide not to overstay my welcome.
I continue walking, and get close to Ginkaku-ji. It is only 8:30, though, and the temple doesn’t open until 9. Realizing that I haven’t eaten in almost 18 hours, I step into the only place that is open this early. I find a cute bear-themed café that serves a western style breakfast with coffee. I get egg, toast, and garden green set, and enjoy the smooth taste of hot coffee. The hostess is nice enough to put on the Olympics for me while I eat, and I see a few 110 meter dashes. I kill time marking a few spots on my map, and then head out at 9 sharp. My original plans for the day finally begin.
Ginkaku-ji
I walk up the street to the gates of the temple, surrounded on either side by restaurants and souvenir shops. An ice cream vendor here, a noddle shop there, etc. As I walk through the gate, immaculately hedged shrubs create walls 15 feet high. I come out to a view of the Ginkaku-ji, along with stone gardens and a peaceful pond. One of the things that sticks out in the Kyoto scenery are the ponds in the gardens, so serene and undisturbed, as if untouched by time. Walking through the garden path, I find a mini-waterfall in which tourists have thrown hundreds of silver coins. This really is the silver temple, I think to myself. Stone steps lead away from the temple itself up the mountain. It is a short walk, but the sight of Ginkaku-ji and the surrounding temples popping over the tops of trees is a beautiful way to start the day.
I start my way back down and out, taking several pictures along the way, and stop at an apple hanging from one of the trees. It is almost exactly at midpoint between the top and bottom, and I am reminded of one of the most famous Zen stories told in the West.
“A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him.
Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!”
-Except from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones
Down the Philosopher’s Path: Honen-in
From Ginkaku-ji, a trail called The Path of Philosophy guides one along the river toward more temples south. The traditional route is from south to north, but I decide to go north to south along the river. A few minutes from Ginkaku-ji, a boy and his father are catching bugs with little nets. The boy catches about 4 or 5 in the short time that I see them, which is impressive. I continue walking, and find my next stop, Honen-in, to be harder to find. It is tucked back behind houses, and there is a small alleyway that leads to the entrance. When I see the steps leading up to the temple, I know I’ve found the right place. Unlike Ginkaku-ji, Honen-in doesn’t attract the same droves of tourists, though it is a nice view. There is an interesting sculpture of round metallic spheres stacked perfectly on top of one another. I walk up a few steps to find another cemetery, but do not linger here, as families are visiting their loved ones.
I continue down The Path of Philosophy, and find a littler of cats chilling along the side of the trail. Eventually, the official path comes to an end, and a new street begins. I have to navigate a few side streets to get on the path I need to take for my next visit, which is to Eikan-do.
Eikan-do
Of all the Buddhist temples I’ve visited, this one has the most intimate feeling to it. The complex is large, and unlike other temples, you get almost completely free reign of the grounds as well as the inside of the temples. I walk through the gate, remove my shoes, and enter the interior. In the cloister, I am suddenly transported to a new world. A pond covered with lily pads is the centerpiece for this garden, but the paths run around the pond along the edge of a unique sand garden. Walking the wooden floors, the visitors float through the garden, not disturbing the grass, the sands, or the ponds.
I explore the temple, taking as many pictures of the exterior as I can. Pictures are not allowed on the interior, so I soak up the shrine to Buddha and the monks that helped establish the temple. I light incents and move on to view the pagoda. The walk up the stairs is steep, but only a few flights. At the top, I can see over the roofs of the houses and other buildings, and can see Daimonji (大) and Hou (法) symbols on the mountainside in the distance. These are scheduled to be lit at sundown.
I climb back down the pagoda and come across a large koi pond with an island in the middle. A bridge connects to the island, so I walk along it and stare at the pond for a while. Once I’ve finished, I go out to the gates and go to my last stop on the path of philosophy, Nanzen-ji.
The weather is getting very hot, so I don’t stay long at Nanzen-ji. I view the old gate and think of the gate from Rasho-mon. That gate was mostly destroyed, while Nanzen-ji stands strong, but the gates match that kind of structure. I also walk over to the waterfall that for which a shrine was built. In case you haven’t noticed, shrines and temples seem to be everywhere in Kyoto. I go back to the nearest train station, ready to cool off at the hostel and make a plan for Daimonji Gozan Okuribi tonight.
First beer, Dinner, and Getting Rained Out
I cool off for a while and find that there is a trail near Ginkaku-ji that I can climb in order to get a view of the whole town. I decide I’ll go back to the area, eat at one of the restaurants that I passed, and then make the 2 hour climb before sunset. I go back to where I started my day, and hop into a small place that has a delicious bowl of green tea soba noodles with heron (the fish, not the bird). I also order a beer, my first since I landed in Japan. It is refreshing and gives me a little bit of a pick-me-up after 3 long days. According to my FitBit, I’ve been averaging at least 30,000 steps a day, so I think the food and a beer are in order. I enjoy the warm food and soba and sip on the beer, in no rush to leave.
I then go to the head of the trail, ready to start my hike. When I get there, though, I am unexpectedly turned away. Apparently, passes have to be bought to go up on this night, since it is such a famous event. I don’t have a pass, so I head down, trying to think of a way to salvage my plan. I remember my guide book mentioning a view from Kamogawa River, not far from where I am, so I decide to head that direction and stake out a spot. I cross the river by hopping on stones, then lay out my poncho as a makeshift blanket and wait for the show to start. The riverside is already extremely crowded, so it is a little hard to find a spot. Luckily, I am only one person, so squeezing between two groups is easy.
Unfortunately, the wait time is 2.5 hours, and I quickly find myself uncomfortable as I wait for the arrival of sunset. I write a little, read, but in the end I lay down and close my eyes for a moment. The sky gets progressively dark, but rain clouds also appear. It drizzles for a minute, then abates. I wait and wait and wait, and eventually a couple and their baby come and sit down near me. I move my stuff a little so that they can make room, and they courteously invite me to sit on their blanket and join them. I take them up on the offer after they insist a few times, and I find out a little about them. I can’t remember their names, but find out that the husband and wife are from Vietnam, and the husband is studying at Kyoto University. He speaks English very well, and the wife and I can converse ever so slightly in Japanese. I find this strange, as I’ve been unable to converse with Japanese people in Japanese. Perhaps there is something easier about communicating when both speakers have a similar grasp on the language. Their 4 month old daughter is adorable, and I play a game of peek-a-boo with her. She grabs my finger, apparently fascinated by it.
However, the rain begins to pour down hard. I throw my poncho on, and am safe for a little while. The rain doesn’t lighten up, but comes down ever harder as the night gets closer. I try to stick it out for a while, but find a puddle building on the rain-proof blanket. I stand up, thank the couple for their courtesy and the conversation, and find some cover beneath the trees. I stay here until 9:00, when the fires were supposed to start. I stay, thinking that they are likely just having some trouble because of the rain. 9:10, nothing. 9:15, nothing. Unable to stand getting wet, and fearful of my passport guide books getting wet and ripped to shreds, I leave and head toward the subway.
Along with several hundred others, my entire lower half is soaked through. I get on the subway, remove the poncho and shake off the water. I get my ticket and get on the train heading south. A couple are looking at a map and seem to be very confused about what is going on. They sound like they speak a little English, so I step in and ask if they need help getting to Karasuma line (the main North-South line for the city). We find out we are going to the exact same station, so I offer to guide them directly to where they need to be. I have a lovely conversation with them and we decide to I speak with them a little and find out they are from Italy, and tonight is their first night in Kyoto. I find out their names are Enrico and Silvia. When we get to the station, we exchange business cards, and Silvia friended me on Facebook.
It was a great night, despite getting spit on by the rain, so I go pass out in my room after changing into some dry, warm clothes.
