Today (whatever day this is, 22nd May?) we are continuing our sightseeing in Kyoto, but without the heroics. There is a cheap bus pass here that pays for itself if you take more than two trips. Nice and simple and we used it to get to Ryoanji which is the temple that is home most famous Zen garden of them all. The Ryoangibtemple complex is, like all others, made if easily combustible materials and it has suffered from destructive fires. Fortunately they now have that in hand.
We then joined the throng through the picturesque gardens and lake that lead up to the temple and we eventually found ourselves sitting on the edge of this beautiful tranquil walled garden, the wall, with its imperfections, as perfectly self-contained as the garden itself. Behind us were the large tatami mat rooms where the elite must have sat sipping sake and eating delicacies and, probably, plotting, scheming and worrying about their enemies rather than contemplating their existence through the medium of this garden.
We then joined the throng through the picturesque gardens and lake that lead up to the temple and we eventually found ourselves sitting on the edge of this beautiful tranquil walled garden, the wall, with its imperfections, as perfectly self-contained as the garden itself. Behind us were the large tatami mat rooms where the elite must have sat sipping sake and eating delicacies and, probably, plotting, scheming and worrying about their enemies rather than contemplating their existence through the medium of this garden.
The creator of the garden, and his or her purpose, is unknown. My theory is that a gardener was told 'Get rid of those bloody rocks and sweep up the gravel' and he came up with a cunning plan.
Next stop was Kinkakuji, the golden pavilion. This place invoked fond memories for me as I was given a model to build of this temple when a youngster in Tokyo. I suspect I found it difficult, as I did model building in general, as I remember it well.
Kinkakuji and the grounds surrounding it are ludicrously picturesque. Every shot is a postcard. It was a retirement villa for some rich noble. 'Yeah. Make it a couple of stories high, 2 bedrooms, ensuite and, oh yeah, cover the freaking thing in gold leaf'.
Between sights we had looked for somewhere to eat, settling on a cafe whose menu showed spaghetti for me and ice cream for Rosemary. To our slight disappointment and great amusement we were told by the nattily dressed proprietor, bow tie and braces, that it was an 'ice cream holiday'. We settled for green tea ice creams in a cone from a booth up the road instead.
The bus back to our Ryokan took us through the main shopping district of Kyoto and we made a plan to return for dinner. So after a bit of a rest we headed out again to give the bus pass a good thrashing. This central part of Kyoto is very lively but with what seemed like an unusually large number of pet stores. We even passed a Cat Cafe where you can order a coffee and sit there stroking the many cats that were lounging around. At first I thought it was like one of those fish restaurants where you point to the fish you want to eat, but apparently not. So you see, even mad cat ladies can turn their obsession into a living in this place.
Dinner was good (not in the cat cafe in case you were wondering) and we headed back to base with a good plan for the next day when we would be moving on.
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