We all slept surprising well given that we shared a room, slept on the floor, and were woken up to gongs from the temple across the street in the middle of the night. Neighbors ... what can you do? Saizen-in Prayer Hall We woke early enough to join the monks in their morning prayer at 6a or really, watch the monks in their morning prayer. No photos were allowed ... their prayer hall was amazingly ornate with lanterns, carvings, candles, and other works of art. About 20-ish Temple guests … [Read more...]

Alright … enough of Kyoto (really, I don't think there's ever enough of Kyoto … so many places left on the to-do list for another visit). But if it was Wednesday, it was time to move on to Koyasan, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Japan's most sacred site (I think I read that somewhere; don't quote me. But if it isn't, it should be).  Koyasan, or Mt Koya, is a settlement of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Founded in 806 by a Japanese Buddhist monk by the name of Kukai, or … [Read more...]

Just a few more fun photos taken at the Kyoto Imperial Palace ... One of several gatehouses to the inner sanctum of Palace grounds The whole Palace complex is surrounded by so much much greenery, you could stand on the sidewalk outside and not even know it was there. Interesting twig (?) gate One more glimpse at the beautiful garden … [Read more...]

We also spent a morning at the Kyoto Imperial Palace — the home of the Imperial Family until the Japanese capital was moved from Kyoto to Tokyo in 1868. The grounds are open for wandering and many families were enjoying Sunday morning picnics. But on our way to the Palace after getting off the subway, we happened upon this delightful little alley. We had to take a detour through here first, and then on to the Palace. We were too early for shops to be open. The grounds of the Palace … [Read more...]

The picturesque Mount Inari and its thousands of vermillion torii gates and shrines were high on my must-see list while I was in Kyoto. Spend anytime googling Kyoto and you’re bound to see the photos of trails covered by a veritable tunnel of torii gates.  The start of the trail A torii gate marks the entrance to a Shinto shrine, defining the transition from earthly land into sacred space. The tunnels of thousands of torii gates on Inari act as an overall threshold to the thousands of … [Read more...]