Kyoto Temples

The past few days have been one adventure after another!

Wednesday, Jan 16th, I walked Zephyr to preschool with Kazuyo and Gryphon. It was a new school in a nice neighborhood. When we walked out to the playground where the children were, many of them ran up to us and where saying the same thing in Japanese over and over. Kazuyo translated their words to, 'It's a new mommy!!'. They were so sweet and my face hurt from smiling :)

 Later that day, Kazuyo and I went shopping at the wharf. It was my first trip to the ocean since arriving in Japan, and it was a beautiful sunny day.....

Panorama of the wharf 

Kazuyo and Gryphon @ the wharf

That evening, we went to dinner at Grass with Gryphon's godfather, John. He has one of the best smiles ever which reflects his kind and loving heart. 

The next day, we drove up and through the mountains to Sanda, where Matthew and Kazuyo lived when I visited 4 years ago. Matthew hosted a radio show for the local station, Honey FM. 

Matt's Radio Show @ Honey FM

They had missed Matthew,  and the ladies were so happy to meet baby Gryphon for the first time. They invited us to join them on a cruise in Kobe harbor on Sunday, followed by bowling. Sounds like fun to me!

Qmi @ Honey FM

On Friday, we took the train to Kyoto to visit a couple temples. There was a light snow and it was a beautiful day! 

Let it snow in Kyoto!!

Out first stop was Kiyomizu Temple. Founded in 798, it's current structures were built in 1693, during the Edo period. The supporting structure of Kiyomizu-dera's Main Hall. It is constructed with 139 pillars and no nails are used.

Kiyomizu-dera's Main Hall- center

The spring, Otowa-no-taki, has been there for 1000 years. Visitors drink for health, longevity, and success in studies. 

Otowa-no-taki Spring

Otowa-no-taki Spring from the main hall balcony

Pagoda of Kiyomizu-dera

Nio-mon Gate

Jizo Buddist shrines

Following Kiomizu Temple, we hoped back on the train and headed to Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine. 

The earliest structures were built in 711. The main structure was built in 1499. There are many kilometers of trails lined with torii. The torii are the orange posts you see below...

Torii

Cousins :)

The white fox (Kitsune) is a messenger of the gods and a guardian. 

Kitsune

It was a steep hike up to the top. We hiked for at least an hour and started to tun out of daylight and had to go back the way we came instead of finishing the loop. Oh well, next time we will plan a day of it! 

View of Kyoto

At the end of the day, and after all of the fresh air and hiking, we made our way by train to the city of Takatsuki where we met up with Oda-san, Katsuji, and Carter at a favorite restaurant, Tsurukin. Again, we ate so much good food! And I even tried whale for the first time. It was red in color and tasted like a strong, dark ahi tuna but with more flavor.... and no, this wasn't the type of whale that is illegal to catch. It is some type of small whale. 

Katsuji @ Tsurukin

A few high balls (what they call liquor with soda water with lemon) later and with full bellies, we headed on foot to their friend's cowboy bar. Yes, this Japanese fella had spent a few years in Texas and fell in love with it. So much so that he opened a bar with a rodeo theme. He had bottles of whiskey on tap and largest selection I had ever seen. 

Oda-san gives this place a thumbs up!

And of course,  you can't go out drinking with friends with out playing some poker at some point in the evening!!

left to right~ Dune, Carter, Nanae, Katsuji & Matthew

Matthew called up Nanae, a friend who often goes out with them when they are in her neighborhood. She is a ballerina and teaches locally. Turns out she is awesome and I made a new girlfriend :) I think she speaks good english but she doesn't think so and wants more practice.... and so, we became FB friends and will write back and forth.

Nanae and I 

We were having so much fun that we had to run to catch the last train back home! A big thank you to Matthew and friends for another wonderful day! 

Only a few days left here in Japan before heading to Thailand. I will be sure to write one more blog while here, as these last few days are sure to be action packed as well. A big thank you goes out to my family here in Japan and my new friends who have all made this trip so special :) I am so grateful for this life!