Midland-Handa Exchange 2013: A Trip to Kyoto

All three exchange students went to Kyoto today as a group. We went to three different temples and went shopping along a very long street. The first temple we went to was Kinkakuji (金閣寺). It is called the golden pavillion because the top two floors are covered in real gold leaf. Throughout its history this building has burned down many times; the present structure was rebuilt in 1955. On the roof there is a small statue of a phoenix, a bird from Greek mythology which is reborn from ashes. There is also a large garden surrounding the temple which we walked through. We threw coins at some statues for good luck. The aim is to get the coin in the bowl surrounded by statues, but none of us made it. Everything was beautiful and I took many pictures.

the temple from the front

all three of us with the temple in the background

the phoenix ornament on the roof

the fishing deck at the back of the temple

koi in the pond behind the temple

one of the statues where many people tried to throw coins into the small bowl

After Kinkakuji we went to lunch: a buffet at a hotel. It was really nice and i tried many different types of food. Along with the food pictured I also tried every flavor of sherbert/ice cream they had (there were only six). Almost everything was very good.

the meal

dessert

After lunch we went to Sanjusangendo (三十三間堂). The temple hall is 120 meters (almost 394 ft) long. The name of this temple refers to the length of the building. Sanjusan means "thirty-three" and gendou refers to the intervals between the building's support columns. Inside the temple hall there were 1000 statues of life-sized 1000-armed Senju Kannon and one large wooden 1000-armed Kannon in the center. Each statue only has 42 arms, but if you subtract the two normal arms and multiply by the 25 planes of existence then you get a total of 1000 arms each. Each hand holds a different symbolic item. There were many tables along the length of the hall where you could buy candles and incense to burn in the temple. All of us lit a stick of incense in front of the large statue at the center of the building. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any pictures inside the temple hall. In the gift store I bought a book with many photos and descriptions (in English).

a gate off to the left of the temple hall

After Sanjusangendo we went to another temple: Kiyomizudera Temple (清水寺). The name can be literally translated to "Pure Water Temple." This is because there is a waterfall called Otoya Waterfall which flows at the base of the main hall. It splits into three different streams and visitors drink the water. Each stream is said to give a different benefit (longevity, success at school, and a fortunate love life), but drinking from all three is considered greedy. We all drank from the stream with no other people standing by it which my host family later told me was the one for a fortunate love life. Another famous thing at this temple is the "Love Stone." There are two stones 18 meters (about 59 ft) apart and if you can find your way from one to the other with your eyes closed then you will have luck in finding love. To need guidance to find the other stone suggests need for an intermediary in your love life. I tried it and I had a guide but I still had some trouble finding the other stone. Maybe since I drank from the fortunate love life stream but had not-so-great luck in finding my way between the stones those two things cancel out. We also went through a dark maze in the basement of Zuigudo Hall which symbolizes a mother's womb. There was a large rock near the end and we all touched it and made a wish. I really enjoyed visiting this temple as well.

the entrance

us in front of the entrance

a dog guarding the entrance of the temple

the main hall

a bell which is rung 88 times on New Year's-
each ring symbolizes one human desire

The Love Stone

drinking water from Otowa Waterfall

Our final stop in Kyoto was Gion (祇園). We walked along the street and went into many shops as well as a sweets restaurant. Since this region is famous for geiko (geisha in the Kyoto dialect) and maiko (geiko apprentices), I bought a small maiko doll in one of the shops. It is made from chirimen, a fabric unique to Japan. I bought a few other small items in the shops as well.

the maiko doll

the street

music fans (I would have bought one if they weren't ¥3000!)

Tanabata along the Kamo River

The Kamo River

the sweets restaurant, Kagizen Yoshifusa

kuzukiri (cold arrowroot noodles with brown sugar syrup which tasted like molasses)

me eating kuzukiri

After we got back to Handa we went to a sushi bar. When I went out for kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi with my first host family I struggled a little to eat the fish and other seafood in the sushi. Today, I ate everything except for a small bowl of seaweed, the ginger, and a piece of ahi (a type of fish) at the beginning of the meal. In addition to what is pictured I also had some octopus, some kind of spongy fish, and a cucumber roll (cucumber and rice wrapped in seaweed). I actually liked all of the sushi which really surprised me. I'm really glad I got to try everything. Today was fantastic and all the experiences I had were amazing. I think today was my favorite trip with the whole group. It was absolutely wonderful.