How long would it take to visit 1600 temples?

Ok let't get this out on the table right now. Kyoto is home to more than 1600 Buddhist temples and over 400 Shinto shrines. No, we won't be going to them all, but I can tell you that it is hard to walk 50 meters without bumping into some form of temple or shrine. Some are the size of a small van, and others sprawl over several acres.

We have just completed day one of 3 full days in Kyoto and I can tell you that it is a stunning city, but the amount of things to see is overwhelming. There are 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Kyoto... There are so many distractions (in a good way), that it makes it next to impossible to carry out an agenda. Around every corner, behind every wall and door lies something as incredible as the thing you just saw 3 minutes ago.

The Kyoto area was first settled in the 7th century and by 794 was the capital of Japan. The history that is scattered amongst the base of the surrounding mountains, Eastern (Higashiyama) and Western (Arashiyama) is incredible.

First on our "agenda" today was the Buddhist temple Kiyomizu-Dera. The temple was first constructed in 798, however the structures that we saw today date back the 1630's.

Gate leading to the Kiyomizu-Dera Buddhist temple

Some of the buildings at Kiyomizu-Dera have thatched roofs instead of the metal tiles we have been seeing at other temples.

The more typical metal tiles that we have been seeing on the roofs.

Three storey pagoda.

Bronwyn and Fintan at the base of a several hundred year old Wisteria vine. Sadly the Wisteria doesn't bloom until sometime in mid May.

A close up look at a Buddhist temple gong. This is located at the entrance to the temple, it is here where people toss coins into an offering box, bow, swing the rope to ring the gong, clap twice, pray, clap once and then finish with a bow.

In action.....

Here a man is rubbing Buddha and praying. I watched one man take a 10,000 Yen bill (~$100) and rub it all over Buddha's body, then over his own buddy, then he stuck the bill back in his pocket.

Check out how shiny his cheeks are from being rubbed all of the time.

A beautiful lantern in one of the temple buildings.

See, I told you they were huge in Japan. Here they are posing with a Vietnamese family... and then others joined in.....

Ok, so that was just today.... and just the ones that we thought to take pictures of while they were happening... anyways, back to the temples and shrines.

A Japanese couple in traditional gear were walking around the temple. Posers....

After Kiyomizu-Dera we started wandering down a steep street named Chawan-zaka (Teapot Lane). Teapot Lane is lined with gift shops and stores selling Japanese sweets. One of our favs has been the Sakura (Cherry Blossom) ice cream.... so good.

18c and mostly sunny, no umbrellas needed today....

A very crowded Teapot Lane

From Teapot Lane we cut down a street called Sannen-zaka. This street was amazing. It's a narrow road that winds down hill heading north for about a kilometre. Both sides of the street are lined with restored traditional wooden houses, shops and restaurants. Think Frank Lloyd Wright meets Japanese Zen, meets the most charming street you can imagine. For me, this has been one of my highlights so far. Every direction you looked there was a little hidden garden, entry to a house, or sliding door leading to an intimate restaurant. It was a day dreamers paradise.

Looking down Sannen-zaka street

A bike in a passage way along Sannen-zaka.

Geisha Girls strolling along Sannen-zaka

As we were heading north looking for a temple called Kodai-ji, we stumbled upon Ryozen Kannon - the tomb of the unknown soldier. When I we stumbled on it, it would have been difficult to miss as there was a massive sculpture set up against a tree covered mountain back drop...

Wishing Ball - you make your wish and walk around the ball touching it with your right hand.

It took us quite awhile to find the entrance to Kodai-ji temple. But once we found it, it was well worth the wait.

Mani Wheels - These are Buddhist objects that are commonly used around the world. Basically they wheels spin when you drag your fingers over them. At Kodai-ji these Mani Wheels represent the Heart Sutra. So if you have wishes regarding the health, longevity etc. you walk around the hall clockwise dragging your right hand against each wheel.

Beautiful detail inside the temple

Wicked zen garden at Kodai-ji. You have to walk through two super cool buildings (that you can't take pics of) before you arrive at this hidden garden.

From the porch you can see our buddy from Ryozen Kannon

Detail of thatched roof at Kodai-ji

Inside of small meditation building at Kodai-ji

Bamboo Groove at Kodai-ji

Our buddy again from Ryozen Kannon, this time seen through the Bamboo Grove

After Kodai-ji we walked through Maruyama Koen Park. This was another large park jam packed with locals enjoying the cherry blossoms. We won't bore you with more pics of those bad boys. Needless to say it was beautiful in the park, the walk through was delayed at times while the kids posed for more photographs.....

From the park we took a taxi to a temple by the name of Nanzen-ji. The current buildings date back to the 17th century, but like most buildings in Japan they are reconstructions of ones from hundreds of years earlier that were destroyed by fire. I guess that's the downside of always building with wood....

Japanese school boys hang out on the steps near the temple gate

Aquaduct at Nanzen-ji. This is still operating and has a steady stream of water flowing in it.

Cool detail at the corner of one of the temple buildings

Buddha on a gravestone at Nanzen-ji

Our final stop of the day was a temple called Ginkaku-ji. The walk to Ginkaku-ji was an amazing path that runs along a canal covered with cherry blossoms. The path is called Tetsugaku-no-michi or the "Path of Philosophy". The walk between Nanzen-ji and Ginkaku-ji took about 45 mins and the path was PACKED with people.

The Path of Philosophy was a wee bit busy today....

A pair of young philosophers discuss the meaning of life. Well, truth be told, they were discussing why a mangey wild cat ran away from them.

A artist sits on a bridge working on a sketch.

This street was a mad house. We had to walk up it to get to Ginkaku-ji from the Path of Philosophy.

Ginkaku-ji was originally a Shogun villa by the name of "Silver Pavillion" dating back to 1482. The Shogun's dream to cover the building with silver never happened and the villa was turned into a temple after Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa died.

The gardens are meticulously raked. The cone represents mountains and the sand a lake.

They hand pick all of the weeds from the forest floor. The place is immaculate.

So that brings to an end one crazy long day. We covered an amazing amount of ground today. I have promised the family that tomorrow won't be as busy as today was.... But, having said that, we only covered 4 of the 1600 Buddhist temples in Kyoto....