Hitting the Streets - the Night Life of Kyoto

Even at night, Kyoto glows in the presence of its many shrines.

Kyoto has some fabulous shopping streets - open late, and many of them under covered walkways.  

Awesome!  Kimono sale!

Kyoto is awash with opposites.  There is the old mixed in with the new.  Where else can you find a shrine on one of the busiest shopping streets of the city?

Walking into the shrine.  There is another dragon shaped faucet to wash hands and the mouth.

Almost all shrines are equipped with a rope attached to either a bell or a gong.  I would see many people walk up to a shrine, throw a coin in the box, ring the bell, bow, and clap their hands.  

Multi-colored cranes strung together.

Buddah.

 

Leaving the shrine, we are back in the commercial world again.  Complete with claw machines filled with giant kitty heads!

It's only slightly horrifying!

An awesome building in the shopping district.

A florist with an interesting slogan.

One night, we actually found a French cafe.  This picture might look boring, but if you look carefully, you will see the green "sortie" sign over the door.

The menu, in French and Japanese.  They actually did a pretty good job with the French!

Interesting bar names, like "Seaquest" and "Jelly Bean Rocket".

The lively street.

Outside of Louis Vuitton, Kyoto.  Ever want to throw a dart at a purse?

Eclipse Viewing in Japan

The first day I was in Kyoto, I was treated to an annular eclipse.  I had to travel from Europe to Japan to see it, but see it I did!  I was lucky because it wasn't cloudy.  So I hit the streets in the early morning with thousands of Japanese school children to see the eclipse.

Here's the image of the eclipse, as seen through the leaves of a tree.

I tried to take a picture by using my solar filter against my camera, but it didn't work out too well.  But hey, you can see the sun and the moon, very, very far away.

As totality approached, I saw the sky dim.  Was it coming cloud cover?  Actually, no, it was the moon, which I suppose reached the critical amount of solar coverage to actually substantially change the amount of brightness on the Earth.

Totality was pretty cool.  Through my solar glasses, I could see the moon, surrounded by the sun, in a lopsided glowing orange ring.  It only lasted a minute though, so no pictures, however, my parents, who lived in "the best city in the world to see the eclipse" got some awesome pictures.

A point to anyone who can explain why sometimes we see a total eclipse, and sometimes we see an annular eclipse.

Temple Hopping

The main thing travelers to Kyoto complain about is "Temple fatigue".  With thousands (literally!) of temples and shrines around the city, there is definitely plenty to see. 

First is Nishi-Hongan-ji Temple, established in 1272.  Like most of the other temples in Kyoto, it is made of wood (therefore, the grounds are littered with no smoking signs!)

The elaborate tiles on the roof of the temple.

A lone woman carries her shoes with her as she goes to pray in the temple.

The main temple hall, with huge wooden doors in front of sliding screens.

 Temple bell.

Outside the temple.   Note the interestingly shaped trees.  Their long branches are sculpted.  You'll see more examples later.

The main gate was impressive!  It was made of black wood, and painted with fantastic animals.

The main tree in the courtyard.  Again, note its branches.  They are so long and heavy they need poles to support them.

Heading to the next temple, I pass an orange Tori gate.

Another blue heron in the pond in front of the temple.

Next up is the To-ji temple, established in 794.   It has a 5 story pagoda (one of the largest I saw).  The main hall contains several (rather large) Buddah statues.

Around the temple.  

The temple bell.

My first encounter with raked white pebbles.  There will be many more!

Walking to the next temple, we see a huge Tori gate in the city.  They're everywhere!

The Shoren-in Temple.  This was one of my favorites.  It was so incredibly peaceful.   All of the walls were screens, which could be rolled back to see the amazing garden.  The fluid movement from indoors to outdoors contributed to the magic of this temple.

Passing from room to room, all separated by sliding screens.

The gardens.  So peaceful. 

I think that if I could have a house designed like this, I would be very content.

Behind the temple was a bamboo forest, with conference friends Kari and Richard for scale.

The giant bell on the temple grounds.  We even rang it!  

The massive gate of the Chion-in Temple.  The large wooden gate is one of the largest in Japan.

Another sculpted tree.  Look at how long the branches can grow when they are supported!