We're Engaged!!!

On Tuesday, at Kiyomizudera in Kyoto, Jake proposed to me and I said yes!!! We are so excited. Kiyomizudera was Jakes favorite sight in Kyoto from his last trip, and it was the temple I was most looking forward to seeing. It is built high into the side of a mountain, with amazing views of the whole city of Kyoto. Because of Nihonbarre, the weather was absolutely beautiful for our visit there.

One of the things you can see at Kiyomizudera is Jishu Jinga, or the Love Shrine. Jishu Jinja is two stones, about 18 meters apart from each other, and it is said that if you can close your eyes and walk safely from one stone to the other, then you will find true love. Jake asked me if I wanted to try and walk. I was a little bit skeptical because there didn't seem to be anyone else doing it, but there were a million people walking back and forth between them to get to the shops that lined either side. I was pretty sure that if I tried I would just walk into people. Jake promised that he would make sure I didn't, so I closed my eyes and started walking. Jake gave me directions so I stayed in a straight line, and helped me to avoid the crowds of people crossing. When I reached the second stone and opened my eyes, he was down on one knee in front of me holding up the most beautiful ring. He asked me to marry him, and because I wasn't sure I could talk I just nodded and gave him a hug. I don't think I've stopped smiling since.

Hooray for nihonbarre!

We got up early on Wednesday to make the most of our last day in Kyoto. As i do every morning, I checked weather.com for some insight as to how the day was going to be. The result, as i had expected, 100% chance of precipitation all the way through until 7 pm, when we were planning on leaving, then it was going to miraculously clear up as we headed back to Tokyo. So we dressed for cold rain, rolled up our pant legs, grabbed the umbrellas and headed out the door. We checked out of the hotel and had them hold our bags to be picked up later.

It wasn't raining outside, but it looked like it could at any second, so we hopped a cab and headed to Ginkakuji to try and get at least one temple in before the eminent downpour. We arrived at the gates just before they opened and were the first people to walk in. Ginkakuji is also known as the silver pavilion. This building itself is a copy of the gold pavilion without the gold. Contrary to the name, it doesn't actually have any silver on it either - just wood. In fact the pavillion itself was under construction as they were re-roofing and doing repairs. What makes this sight special is the garden and surrounding grounds. It was a treat to be able to walk through this treasure without hordes of other onlookers around. Everything seems so peaceful and not one leaf looks out of place. There are also two sand sculptures that must be constantly maintained especially with the recent rain. We saw some of the staff with brooms in hand helping to keep everything perfect and pick up fallen leaves to allow all of the magnificent moss to be exposed. The path around the grounds leads up a tree covered hill and offers some great views of the valley below. We were having the temples calligraphy and stamp done in Erica's book as a group of loud school kids were entering. It made us appreciate our early start even more.

Nihonbarre is a japanese term meaning the cleansing of japan. It is used to refer to the day after a typhoon has passed, and the weather is perfect. It became apparent as we were leaving Ginkakuji that today was in fact Nihonbarre. We have had the pleasure of experiencing this event twice in our trip. We have also had the misfortune of experiencing a typhoon twice during our stay as well. Our current situation was a reminder of how inaccurate weather.com can be as we were both dressed inappropriately for the beautiful day that we were going to have and had to carry around our umbrellas even though we wouldn't need them - ce la vie.

Just down the hill from Ginkakuji is the beginning of "tetsugaku no michi" loosely translated to the path of philosophy, which is a small sleepy path next to a canal along the base of the mountain. The path pointed us back in the direction of the hotel so we walked along. The walk is extremely pleasant, quiet and without much foot traffic. We passed maybe 10 people while following the canal for the next mile or so. Covered by trees, with the sound of the flowing water the entire distance, it was really nice and relaxing.

We continued walking through some back streets and saw some beautiful homes as well as passed some less well known temples and shrines. As we turned a corner we could see the hotel so we headed there to catch a cab to our next point of interest - Kyomizudera.

TokyoBilly

Billy wrote up a post about our visit on his blog TokyoBilly! Check it out to hear about our trip from a different point of view, and also to see some more pictures!

More Temples and Animal Adventures in Kyoto!

Tuesday was another gray rainy day in Kyoto. Apparently our trip coincided with Typhoon #15, which was the cause for our lovely weather. Jake and I were determined to make the best of it, so we rolled up our pants, grabbed our rain coats and umbrellas and headed out anyway.

We took the hotel shuttle back to Kyoto station (which, for some unknown reason, I consistently call "the airport"), and from there we caught the train to Nara. Nara is about an hour away from Kyoto, and it's known for two things. 1: the many beautiful temples and shrines that can be found there. and 2: Deer. Nara is filled with these deer, that just roam around everywhere you go! Their antlers are trimmed down, and they seem very calm (sedated?) for wild deer. It's so crazy that you can just walk right up to them, and they don't run away.

The main thing that Jake and I wanted to see in Nara was Todai-Ji, which was 2.3 km from the station. Despite the rain, we opted to walk rather than grab a bus. On the way there, we passed through Kofuku-ji, a huge temple complex. Kofuku-ji used to be made up of over 125 buildings, however only twelve are left standing today. The most impressive is the beautiful 5 story Pagoda.

Leading up to Todai-Ji is a road lined with small vendor stalls selling souvenirs, deer cookies (for the deer, not people) and, Jake's favorite, Green Tea ice cream. Jake wanted a cone, so we stopped and got some. We stood just in front of the stall, and ate our ice cream, while we watched two tourists feed the deer. We were laughing at how bold the deer were. These poor tourists were quickly surrounded by deer, and the woman, who was holding the food, was getting nipped in the butt by deer who thought she wasn't giving out the food fast enough! The people quickly finished up and hurried along down the road. At this point, one of the deer glanced in our direction, and decided that maybe he would like some ice cream as well! He looked us dead in the eye, and started walking towards us, ever so slowly. Jake and I didn't know what to do, so we just sort of backed up into the stall, and eventually Jake had to hold his umbrella out in front of him to hold the deer off! Just as the deer was about to actually come into the stall with us, the woman running the place came running out from behind us, banging the ground with a huge stick and yelling at the deer to scare him away! Then she turned to us, and calmly said "So sorry!" We couldn't help but laugh, and we decided it was best to throw the rest of our ice cream away and head for the temple.

The main hall of Todai-Ji is the largest wooden structure in the world. Contained within is one of the largest bronze statues in the world, a Daibatsu standing almost 16 meters tall. The building is set up so that you can walk all the way around the statue. It's an amazing thing to see, and one of my favorite parts of Japan so far.

After Todai-ji, we headed back to the station, and from there took a train to Inari, where we visited Fushimi-Inari Taisha. This is one of the craziest sights I have ever seen. It is a series of tunnels made out of bright vermilion tori gates, each carved with a unique inscription. Jake and I had a great time walking through the tunnels, although the rain did make it a bit treacherous at times. Fushimi-Inari Taisha is built into the side of a mountain, so there are lots of steep stone staircases that need to be climbed, and when they get wet, they get slippery! Luckily we made it through without any accidents.

By this time it was starting to get dark, so we headed back to Kyoto. We were both grateful to get back to the hotel and into dry clothes.