Saturday 21 October 2023

Osaka, Japan

I arrive in Osaka for the second time this week--you will understand the reference when the blog gets to Wednesday--late this afternoon, facing another rainy travel day. But more details on that when I get to Saturday. But for now I return to:

Tuesday Morning:  Kyoto

This morning I am headed by taxi to the Katsura Imperial Villa. My sister-in-law, Akiko, recommended it as one of the highlights of Kyoto. English-language tours are only scheduled a few times a week and I had to make an on-line application to visit with the Imperial Household Agency in Kyoto. Only 10 visitors at a time are taken through the estate ground and gardens. The villa itself has been closed for continuing repairs and renovations for 20 years (yes, I typed that number correctly). I asked Akiko what is taking so long, it is a villa of relatively simple design--it isn't Buckingham Palace. Her answer was: expense, delays in material, painstaking detail work, and the lack of skilled artists trained to do the work.

The gardens, however, are lovely. In spring, of course, everywhere would be wild with color. But in October, only the Japanese maples are starting to change color (and they don't give maple syrup). The combination of Chinese design and Japanese craftsmanship creates a many-faceted place that offers the viewer a wide variety of expressions. The basic principles of water and stone are embraced by the trees and the distant mountain that provides a natural backdrop.

Several smaller structures dot the landscape, providing shade for viewing, tranquility for preparing tea, and quiet for contemplation. One building exhibits the blue-white painted screens that are a unique attribute here.

I enjoy the views and the presentation by our guide, but the steps and paths are difficult--narrow, slippery stones, with no handrails--so I am glad I have my cane and I have put it to good use.

On the way back to the taxi stand I pass a small temple and another small shrine--religious buildings pop up unexpectedly in all parts of the city.

It's a fairly long ride from Katsura, in the central west part of Kyoto to a group of the most important temples in the north west area. But the cost isn't expensive and the trip, in spite of all the urban traffic and city ugliness I pass through, is certainly worth it.

Tuesday Afternoon:  Kyoto

I begin my temple visits at Kinkaku-ji (1397, re-built 1950). The "Golden Pavilion" is the most-photographed building in all of Kyoto. It is also one of the most-crowded tourist spots, with visitors from around the world and around Japan. The one-way path around the complex keeps the crowds moving and the atmosphere fairly calm. Again, the combination of building and nature is most important--everything is seen from the outside as part of a larger harmony in the universe. I could produce an entire volume of photos here, but I will content myself with just a few:

Close-up of Golden Phoenix-in-Flight on the Roof

The one-way route takes tourists around the pond and the pavilion, then up a series of stone paths to a height over-looking the city, then down around again to the main gate and waiting taxies. 

I take one for a very short ride downhill to the second major temple, Ryoan-ji (1473), known as the "Temple of the Peaceful Dragon." Here the enigmatic Zen rock garden overwhelms all other aspects of the temple and gardens. A large pebble rectangle set with 14 large stones in three groups, the setting has baffled and stimulated viewers for over five centuries.

There is also a temporary exhibit of sliding screens painted with dragons.

Then another short taxi ride to the last site of the day, Daitoku-ji Temple (1288-1309). The site is immense, with many buildings that are not open to the public. There is also a great sense of quietness, since this temple is not on many tourists' lists. One open compound is the site of a modern cemetery and an open room for grinding leaves for the formal tea ceremony.

After this exhausting but incredible day it's time for a longer taxi ride back to the hotel. But since it is late afternoon, we are going against the traffic leaving downtown. And for the very first time my taxi is driven by an attractive young woman whose English is superlative. Even with conversation, she gets me back in record time and a very low fare.

Tomorrow is another busy day, so I will retire at this point.