Kyoto became the imperial capital in the eighth century, when Emperor Kammu moved here from the neighboring Nara. Quickly the city prospered and hundreds of temples were built. The capital of Kyoto lasted over a thousand years, until Tokugawa Ieyasu moved his government in the seventeenth century which was later Tokyo. Still, Kyoto remained the residence of the emperor until the Meiji Restoration, when the emperor went to Tokyo is definitely a late nineteenth century. At least the city got lucky during the Second World War as it was saved from the American bombing and even the same atomic bomb, despite being one of the candidate cities such horror. This helped preserve thousands of ancient temples that can be seen today.
We thought it best to begin visiting the temples that were standing near the train station where our hotel was. But Kyoto distances are deceptively large, so it took 15 minutes to get to Nishi-Hoganji, the first of two in this area. It is a temple of the sixteenth century with two large rooms prayers that you could enter. It was interesting, but not among the most beautiful in Kyoto ...
Nishi-Hoganji
A further 15 minute walk from Higashi-Hoganji found, similar to the above but it was rebuilt in the nineteenth century after a fire. In one of the rooms could be entered and saw a large group of monks doing a religious ceremony. We liked it better than the Nishi-Hoganji, although one building was under construction.
Higashi-Hoganji
Higashi-Hoganji
As we checked in Kyoto distances are too great to be reached by foot, we decided to catch a bus. This is one of the best means of transport of Kyoto, because it has a lot of lines that reach all the tourist sites (a good map of them here). You pay according to the distance of the journey, so it's a good idea to buy the City Bus All-day Pass (500 yen) is amortized as if more than 2 trips are made.
We took the 206 bus to go to Kiyomizu-dera, one of the most popular temples in the city. It was founded in the eighth century, although the original buildings were destroyed after a huge fire and the current date from the seventeenth century. Like other temples of Kyoto, World Heritage of Unesco declared. To reach the entrance we had to climb a steep hill under a blazing sun and hot as hell. At the end of it there was a large door painted bright colors, like the great pagoda behind her.
Kiyomizu-dera
Kiyomizu-dera
Near the pagoda is the Tainai-meguri, a temple with a very special surprise. Those who plan to visit Kyoto, the rest of this paragraph (spoiler!) Can not read. After paying 100 yen, down some stairs to a narrow corridor. This is completely dark, and could only move along a rope that was attached to the wall. We did not see anything, and the hallway sometimes described curves. Eventually we arrived at a dimly lit rounded rock that had to turn to make a wish. Experience the sea of curious!
Tainai-meguri, Kiyomizu-dera
Within the grounds of Kiyomizu Temple is a Shinto shrine, Jishu-jinja on. It is very popular in Kyoto, as it is dedicated to the deity of love and marriage. Here are the "stone of love", two large stones separated by 18 m to test the love between two people: you have to walk with my eyes closed from one stone to the other, saying the name of our beloved / a ; if you get to the other stone, is that love is strong and the relationship will last. Although the large number of people there, it was possible to run into other people who were doing the test ...
Jishu-jinja, Kiyomizu-dera
stone of love, Jishu-jinja, Kiyomizu-dera
We continue to visit the Kiyomizu-dera to the Hon-do or main hall, where several Buddhist statues were. There was a censer where we put our stick of incense in honor of our godson Guim. The most important of this area is the outdoor terrace protruding from the hill and is endured by wooden pillars. In the background the city of Kyoto was seen, so far only hinted at the huge Kyoto Tower.
Hon-do, Kiyomizu-dera
Hon-do, Kiyomizu-dera
Hon-do, Kiyomizu-dera
From the terrace of Kiyomizu-dera also saw the Otowa-no-taki, a packed source of people that we are addressing. It has therapeutic properties, hence the tail had to drink. The spring falls forming three jets, each conferring a different thing: health, longevity and success in studies. Drinking water must be collected with a dipper with very long handle. We do not know if we cured a disease, but it was very fresh and it worked great for that hot day.
Otowa-no-taki
Otowa-no-taki
In total we employ an hour and half in the visit, and the house we liked, but there are other more dramatic in Kyoto. Leaving the Kiyomizu-dera we bought a couple of "soft ice cream", very popular there, for 250 yen each. The tasting went as we stroll through the pedestrian streets Sannen-zaka and Ninnen-zaka. Here the atmosphere of old Kyoto is preserved, with its low wooden houses. They were very authentic streets, of which there are few in Kyoto. Also had a certain charm Ishibei-koji, a narrow alley off of Ninen-zaka with traditional ryokans and restaurants.
We thought it best to begin visiting the temples that were standing near the train station where our hotel was. But Kyoto distances are deceptively large, so it took 15 minutes to get to Nishi-Hoganji, the first of two in this area. It is a temple of the sixteenth century with two large rooms prayers that you could enter. It was interesting, but not among the most beautiful in Kyoto ...
Nishi-Hoganji
A further 15 minute walk from Higashi-Hoganji found, similar to the above but it was rebuilt in the nineteenth century after a fire. In one of the rooms could be entered and saw a large group of monks doing a religious ceremony. We liked it better than the Nishi-Hoganji, although one building was under construction.
Higashi-Hoganji
Higashi-Hoganji
As we checked in Kyoto distances are too great to be reached by foot, we decided to catch a bus. This is one of the best means of transport of Kyoto, because it has a lot of lines that reach all the tourist sites (a good map of them here). You pay according to the distance of the journey, so it's a good idea to buy the City Bus All-day Pass (500 yen) is amortized as if more than 2 trips are made.
We took the 206 bus to go to Kiyomizu-dera, one of the most popular temples in the city. It was founded in the eighth century, although the original buildings were destroyed after a huge fire and the current date from the seventeenth century. Like other temples of Kyoto, World Heritage of Unesco declared. To reach the entrance we had to climb a steep hill under a blazing sun and hot as hell. At the end of it there was a large door painted bright colors, like the great pagoda behind her.
Kiyomizu-dera
Kiyomizu-dera
Near the pagoda is the Tainai-meguri, a temple with a very special surprise. Those who plan to visit Kyoto, the rest of this paragraph (spoiler!) Can not read. After paying 100 yen, down some stairs to a narrow corridor. This is completely dark, and could only move along a rope that was attached to the wall. We did not see anything, and the hallway sometimes described curves. Eventually we arrived at a dimly lit rounded rock that had to turn to make a wish. Experience the sea of curious!
Tainai-meguri, Kiyomizu-dera
Within the grounds of Kiyomizu Temple is a Shinto shrine, Jishu-jinja on. It is very popular in Kyoto, as it is dedicated to the deity of love and marriage. Here are the "stone of love", two large stones separated by 18 m to test the love between two people: you have to walk with my eyes closed from one stone to the other, saying the name of our beloved / a ; if you get to the other stone, is that love is strong and the relationship will last. Although the large number of people there, it was possible to run into other people who were doing the test ...
Jishu-jinja, Kiyomizu-dera
stone of love, Jishu-jinja, Kiyomizu-dera
We continue to visit the Kiyomizu-dera to the Hon-do or main hall, where several Buddhist statues were. There was a censer where we put our stick of incense in honor of our godson Guim. The most important of this area is the outdoor terrace protruding from the hill and is endured by wooden pillars. In the background the city of Kyoto was seen, so far only hinted at the huge Kyoto Tower.
Hon-do, Kiyomizu-dera
Hon-do, Kiyomizu-dera
Hon-do, Kiyomizu-dera
From the terrace of Kiyomizu-dera also saw the Otowa-no-taki, a packed source of people that we are addressing. It has therapeutic properties, hence the tail had to drink. The spring falls forming three jets, each conferring a different thing: health, longevity and success in studies. Drinking water must be collected with a dipper with very long handle. We do not know if we cured a disease, but it was very fresh and it worked great for that hot day.
Otowa-no-taki
Otowa-no-taki
In total we employ an hour and half in the visit, and the house we liked, but there are other more dramatic in Kyoto. Leaving the Kiyomizu-dera we bought a couple of "soft ice cream", very popular there, for 250 yen each. The tasting went as we stroll through the pedestrian streets Sannen-zaka and Ninnen-zaka. Here the atmosphere of old Kyoto is preserved, with its low wooden houses. They were very authentic streets, of which there are few in Kyoto. Also had a certain charm Ishibei-koji, a narrow alley off of Ninen-zaka with traditional ryokans and restaurants.
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