Japan Trip—Day 6

Day 6 of 8.
Our first full day in Kyoto. This means no more time wasted on city to city commute, and all time dedicated to getting used to the lifestyle of a Kyoto tourist. Unlike Tokyo, the subway system isn’t as wide reached or as convenient in Kyoto. So instead, we relied heavily on their city bus transportation:

And for 500 yen (around $5 US), you’d get a day pass to ride like there’s no tomorrow.

First location of the day—Kinkaku-Ji, also known as the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. “It’s officially named Rokuon-ji (鹿苑寺 , lit. “Deer Garden Temple”), is a Zen Buddhist temple inKyoto, Japan. The garden complex is an excellent example of Muromachi period garden design. The Muromachi period is considered to be a classical age of Japanese garden design. The correlation between buildings and its settings were greatly emphasized during this period. It was a way to integrate the structure within the landscape in an artistic way. The garden designs were characterized by a reduction in scale, a more central purpose, and a distinct setting. A minimalistic approach was brought to the garden design, by recreating larger landscapes in a smaller scale around a structure.”

Dad grabbed some free fans from a local bank and…

This spot’s considered one of the World’s Heritage sites, along side the Pyramids and Grand Canyon. It’s pretty badass.

Here it is:
The Golden Pavilion was actually not cast out of solid gold. It’s a three-story building, where the top two levels are wooden construction by covered with pure gold leaf. Baller, nonetheless.

This kid’s got a plane carved on the side of his head. That’s cool.

Goldmember got nothing on this.

People make wishes by tossing coins into the center bowl. Apparently, most of us can’t aim.

Quick snack:

Adjacent to the temple, there’s the Daimonji. It’s the letter of Grand in Kanji.

Little time to eat, so we grabbed a couple of bento boxes for a quicky.

Location two—Kitano Tenman-Gu, where they house the god of wisdom/knowledge.

Supposedly you get smarter by rubbing the head of the ox. Well, don’t mind if I do.

Sets of calligraphy tools were available for visitors to write down their wishes.

Dad used this opportunity to practice a bit.

Tip for Kyoto: It seems as if all the mosquitos of Japan have migrated here for good. Just by walking through a couple of Shrines, I’ve already accumulated at least 5 bites across my arms. Bring bug spray. They love fresh blood.

While we headed towards our next destination, we came across a Japanese grocery store. There I found these $7 US grapes. Hot dam, they better replaced the seeds with diamonds for price like this.

I also noticed that they offer soy sauce of all shapes and sizes:

Continued our way to the next stop, I saw this:

One of the cutest thing a store can have:

More snack—Shaved ice for around $2.50.

Destination #3—Ginkaku-Ji, also known as the Temple of Silver Pavilion.
“The sand garden of Ginkaku-ji has become particularly well known; and the carefully formed pile of sand which is said to symbolize Mount Fuji is an essential element in the garden.”

Here’s the ticket of admission:
Looks pretty awesome, no?

“The two-storied Kannon-den (観音殿, Kannon hall), is the main temple structure. Its construction began February 21, 1482 (Bummei 14 , 4th day of the 2nd month). The structure’s design sought to emulate the golden Kinkaku-ji which had been commissioned by his grandfather Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. It is popularly known as Ginkaku, the “Silver Pavilion” because of the initial plans to cover its exterior in silver foil”

The streets of Kyoto:

In the evening, we headed back to Shijo, the downtown district of Kyoto for more shopping spree.

As a guy who makes t-shirt, I thought I had to pay a visit to this place:

Bape’s no longer operated by Nigo, and I must say it’s much less of a buzz now to the people. I have never seen a store so empty on such a crowded street.