Kyoto - 6 East side of Kyoto

On Friday I visited the east hills of Kyoto, starting with the Ginkakuji Temple (Ginka = Silver).
In the night before it was snowing and it continued throughout the day with several sunny spots in between. Good weather for some nice pictures.

 Snow is giving a good contrast for the raked sand-gravel.

This building contains the famous tea room. In this Temple the tea ceremony was invented.

 The silver temple while snow is falling.

 Nice overview from the hillside.

Interesting trees in the garden.

 Entrance of the Honen-in Temple

 Again sand as a sculpture

 Shinnyo-do Temple up on a hill

with nice gardens. This one is the modern garden, using rectangles as pattern. Using the shape of the diamond as the Mitsubishi family payed the reconstruction of the temple.

 A nice view from a tea room out to the mountains.

Using the surrounding area as part of the garden view.

On my way through the town, I saw these leaves. First I thought, its artifical but it is a real plant.

The HEinan Shrine somehow was not so interesting. And for the gardens I was too tired.

 So I continued to the Nanzenji-Temple, which has a famous Zen-Garden.

On this temples property some interesting building is located, an old aqueduct.

It still carries water. For sure a nice place to be in summer.

 The temple offers nice views to the gardens

 And the Zen garden off course.

And at the end the sun was shining again.

Kyoto - 5 Daytrip to Nara

One day of my Koyot-week I used for a daytrip to Nara. A bit slowed down by a bad cold I had, I tried to take it easy.

I walked into the park of Nara, comming by the Pagoda:

I continued with a little Riksha-tour to reduce the walking a bit.

It brought me to the first temple the Kasuga-Wakamiya Shrine.

Between the stone lanterns, that frame the path to the temple there are also the deers.

 Again lots of people

 but also quiet areas, where no visitors are allowed. The red painted wood is typical.

In this temple the roofs are rebuilt every so many years. This one was redone recently.

Here you can see such impressive roof constructions. All is made in a way, that the bars can move. The detail I saw in an office, where they have a little exhition about the restauration of another temple in Nara.

This roofs rebuilding is a bit longer ago.

Nice view with the big temple in the far distance. This picture is from the terrace of the Nigatsu-do.

 Here the Nigatsu-do from below.

On my way to the big temple I came by a huge bell tower.

And than I finally ended up at the big hall of the Todaiji-Temple.

 The big Buddha inside.

 quite impressive

 Protected by huge guards.

In this temple one of the huge poles has a hole in the bottom. It is the same size as one of the nostrils of the Buddha. Who fits through this whole will be espacially protected by the Buddha or be granted enlightenment in their next life, depending, what literature you are reading.

Kyoto - 4 Four temples and a lot of walking

Day three of my stay in Kyoto. I tried to get to my first Temple of the day from Kyoto station by bus but the queues were long enough for three or four empty busses. So I decided to walk. First stop: Sanjusangen-do:

This Temple has a Kannon with thousand hands to save thousand worlds. She is supported by 1000 'little' Kannon statues and protected by 30 statues. The hall is huge. On the outside, there are archery tournaments held with a distance of more than 100 meters. Inside no pictures allowed. So only the outside.

The spring is said to help against crying children.

Next stop: Kiyomizu-Temple. That is the one with the super high terrace.

The entrance gate again is 'upstairs'. Again you feel small, when you aproach the gate.

And this is the famous terrace.

In the far distance you can see the Yasaka Pagoda.

Low down there you see the three springs, from which you can drink to get either longevity, success at school or a fortunate love life (but not all three at once).

On my way to the third stop in the small windy roads of Higashiyama.

-

Third stop: Chion-in Temple. This was the temple, in which I wanted to listen to some of the 108 gongs of the bell at midnight of the the New Years eve. But the queue was so long, when I arrived (they already had started the 'performance', that it would have taken me more than two hours to get to the start.

The temple itself is being renovated right now and for this coverd completely in an ugly huge hall.

On my way to the last stop, the Shoren-in Temple, I came by the place, where I queued for the bells of this temple. 

The queue was much shorter and I almost made it to the bell (see later pictures).

The plan of the Shoren-in Temple.

The temple has a wonderfull garden, that can be viewed from the Temple building (it was raining, while I was inside)

Some strange plants in this park.

This is the bell of the Temple. I was even able to ring it, when I visited the temple this time. 

Here the view at night

This is the path to the bell at day

and at night.