Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan

The Golden Pavilion in Kyoto.

In October, we went to Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan for four days.  After a four hour flight from Hong Kong, we arrived at the Kansai Airport in Osaka.  From there, we took a train to Kyoto and then a subway to our hotel.  Although there are a lot fewer English speakers in Japan than in Hong Kong, the subway signs were in English as well as Japanese and it was not too hard to get around.

The first night in Kyoto, we went to the Gion district, which is where the nightlife is supposed to be happening.  Maybe we are just jaded by the excitement of Hong Kong, but we found Gion pretty boring.  In the words of Peter, “although we tried to go out to eat, it seemed everyone else in Kyoto was asleep.”  

We ended up having dinner at our hotel bar.  

The next morning, we met our tour guide, Mio, and went to see several of the Buddhist Temples and Shinto Shrines in Kyoto.  Kyoto was the capital of Japan for over 1,000 years and is full of Temples and Shrines.  During our drive to our first stop, Mio explained how Japan was the land of natural disasters.  Japan has over 100 active volcanoes and over 1,000 earthquakes per year.  They also have floods, cyclones, typhoons and tsunamis.  Mio seemed very proud of Japan's natural disasters, sighting all sorts of horrible statistics, but explaining that the Japanese take all of their natural disasters in stride, lining up for assistance in an orderly manner and not looting.  Good for them. 

Our first stop, the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto.

Detail of the Golden Pavilion.

On that happy note, we arrived at our first stop.  The first stop was the Golden Pavilion, a beautiful Zen Buddhist Temple originally built by a Shogun in 1397.  In the words of Spiro, “surprise, surprise, the Shogun had it good.”  The Temple was built from wood, lacquered over and then completely covered in gold.  Mio failed to tell us that the Temple was burned down by a crazy monk in 1950 and rebuilt in 1955.  Still, it was a sight to behold.  Spiro found the Golden Pavilion “spectacular,” and said “the peacefulness of the gardens was so relaxing that Dad and I were lagging behind.  That is, until a guy with a jackhammer came out.  Lucky for the Shogun, there were no jackhammers in his day.” 

Tenryuji Temple. 

Tenryuji Temple. 

From there, we went to the Tenryuji Temple, a Zen Buddhist Temple with a big gravel area on one side and a pond and garden on the other that monks have stared at and contemplated their innersevles since 1339.  The life of a monk at this temple would “not be a bad life at all,” according to Spiro, “spending your days clearing your mind, gathering rocks and strolling through forests.”  Tenryuji Temple was burned down nine times.  The one we saw was built around 1900.  Maybe the monks should contemplate using building materials other than wood! 

Details of the Tenryuji Temple. 

Truly amazing bamboo forest outside the Tenryuji Temple. 

Along the walkway
through the bamboo forest.

Very close to the Tenryuji Temple is a bamboo forest, which Spiro found “amazing.”  According to Mio, bamboo grows from nothing to 20 meters high in just two months! 

The Fushimi Inari Shrine.

Entering the Fushimi Inari Shrine gates.

Inside the walkway of the
Fushimi Inari Shrine.

After the bamboo forest, we went to the Fushimi Inari Shrine.  Shinto is a Japanese religion that predates Buddhism, but has incorporated some Buddhist concepts.  Shintos appear to worship nature in order to be one with their ancestors.  This particular Shrine consists of over 10,000 wooden gates that snake up and down a mountain.  The sheer scale of this Shrine made it a favorite sight and the top of the mountain provided a beautiful view of sprawling Kyoto.  Peter said that this Shrine was “the coolest by far of the many temples we saw on the first day.”  Spiro said that this Shrine was his “favorite site of the trip.”

Walking down the mountain through the Fushimi Inari Shrine gates.

The Kiyiomizudera Temple.

The Kiyiomizudera Temple.

Our last temple of the day was the Kiyomizudera Temple: a huge Buddhist Temple constructed entirely of wood.  Not a single nail was used to build the structures, which are all fit together in such a way as to endure earthquakes.  The Temple was founded in 778, although the current buildings were built in 1633.  Spiro found this temple “spectacular because of the extraordinary colors and design.”  There is a huge wooden deck overlooking the city.  Mio didn't tell us this, but apparently legend has it that if you jump off the deck and survive, your wish will be granted.  Hundreds took the plunge from 1633 to 1868, but jumping is now prohibited.  Given how high the deck is (well over 50 feet), the only wish I see being granted is the wish to spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair! 

The huge wooden deck (Kiyiomizudera Temple) that people would plunge from to have a wish granted.

Chinese tourist dressed as Geisha in Gion.

Finally, we walked around Gion again and Mio explained the Geisha societies located there.  Girls are brought by their parents at age 15 and spend six years living in a house with other Geishas as unpaid apprentices, learning traditional dance and musical instruments.  After that, they become full-fledged Geishas and basically get paid to host and perform at dinner parties for rich businessmen.  Spiro said it was “funny that there are more Chinese tourists dressed as Geishas in Gion than there are actual Geishas.” Given the limited food options available to those with seafood allergies in a place where everybody eats seafood and nobody speaks English, we had dinner at an Irish pub in Gion run by an actual Irishman.  The beer was great.

Irish pub in Gion run by an actual Irishman.  

The next morning, we went to Sanjusangendo, a Buddhist Temple with 1,001 life-sized wooden statutes of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of compassion, covered in lacquer and gold.  No pictures were allowed in the Temple, but it was an amazing sight to see.  Peter said Sanjusangendo “was even cool enough to beat the gateway thing.”  Mio told us that the Cannon camera company was originally named after the goddess Kannon.  This Temple was built of wood (with paper windows) in 1164, burned down in 1249 and was rebuilt in 1266. 

I believe Spiro spoke for the whole family when he said, “though Kyoto wasn't quite as spectacular as Beijing, it was very cool and we saw a lot. We learned a lot about Japanese culture and history and we spent a lot of time walking around as a family. Overall it was an enjoyable trip and I am glad to have gone.”

We spent the afternoon taking the bullet train from Kyoto to Tokyo.  Peter said that the bullet train was “pretty fast.”  It was a relaxing ride with pretty scenery zipping by in a blur.   

Outside the Sensoji Temple in Asakusa.

Sensoji Temple in Asakusa.

Our first day in Tokyo, we took a long subway ride to Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, which is in the northeastern part of Tokyo.  Asakusa was a cool area with lots of little shops.  Stella got a neat scarf and the boys got Pizza.  Sensoji Temple is the oldest Temple in Tokyo, having been founded in 628.  It was bombed and destroyed in World War II, but rebuilt.

East Gardens of the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo.

Peter taking a rest in
the Imperial Gardens.

From there we took the subway to the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo, but they were closed.  Then we walked all the way around the moat that surrounds the Imperial Palace and gardens looking for the palace itself, but were unsuccessful.  It was a pleasant walk, but left us a bit tired.  Like McCarthur, we vowed we would return.

Defeated, we took the subway to Tokyo Tower, which has a spectacular 365 degree view of Tokyo.  Once again, however, we were jaded by our experience in Hong Kong, where our view at home is much more spectacular.

Tokyo Tower.

Standing on the glass floor in the Tokyo Tower.

The spectacular 365 degree view of Tokyo from the Tokyo Tower at night..

At night, we went to the Shibuya shopping district, which is the Tokyo equivalent of New York's Times Square.  We found a dive bar and had a burger, which in Peter’s words was “horrible.”  After dinner, Spiro wanted to see the cars at the place immortalized by “The Fast and the Furious” movies, but was told that it was in a parking garage 20 miles from our hotel and illegal, so we didn’t go. 

The gate to the Imperial Palace. 

The trees at the East Gardens.

The subway system in Tokyo, like the city itself, is sprawling and very complex.  After spending a substantial amount of time constantly buying tickets every time we changed trains, we discovered that daily passes are the way to go.

The next day, we returned to the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, which were open.  They were very nice, but we can see trees and lawns pretty much anywhere.  Again, we searched for the illusive Imperial Palace itself and came up empty.  Spiro said that “the best time we had in Tokyo might just have been our failure to find the Imperial Palace, as we spent that time as family wandering around conversing about our vacation as a whole.”

The Athanas boys in
the Meiji Jingu Shine.

The Meiji Jingu Shrine.

With time running out on our vacation, we made a mad dash for the Meiji Jingu Shrine.  The Shrine is dedicated to the Emperor Meiji, who died in 1912, and his wife, Empress Shoken.  In the Shinto religion, Emperors are deified.  Mio told us that the Japanese Emperor of today is the 125th Emperor of an unbroken bloodline that goes back to around 700 BC.  The Shrine consists of a 170 acre forest with over 120 trees and a beautiful natural wood temple area, in the center of which are two perfect trees blended together to form what looks like a single tree and attached by a rope.  The Shrine was bombed and destroyed in World War II and then rebuilt in 1958, but an awful lot of very mature trees appear to have survived.  This Shrine would have been much more relaxing if we weren't in a rush to catch our plane, but such is modern life.   

Beautiful detail of the Meiji Jingu Shrine.

Spiro again spoke for the whole family when he said that “Tokyo was a little underwhelming.  Since everything in Tokyo was destroyed in the Second World War, the sites were just re-creations of the originals.  They were still very cool, but after seeing the real deal in Kyoto and Beijing, they didn’t quite match up.”

It was a very, very long bus ride to the airport, but once we were there, we got home without any issues.