Formally known as Rokuon-ji Temple, but infamously known as Kinkakuji or the Golden Pavilion, this temple was built during the Muromachi period. It was previously the retirement villa of the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu but became a zen temple after his death.
Gold foil covers the top two levels of the temple while a phoenix sits atop the temple.
You are allowed to roam the rest of the temple grounds, however, there is not much to see.
Kodaiji temple was my favorite temple on this trip. The zen qualities of the temple was soothing among the busy rhythm of this trip.
This temple was built in 1605 by Kita-no-Mandokoro, also known as Nene, in honor of her late husband Toyotomi Hideyoshi. However the temple is named after Kita-no-Mandokoro’s honorary name Kodai-in.
Peaceful zen stone garden in front of the main hall.
Kaisan-do, Founder’s Hall, with bonsai trees.
Hojo, main hall, rebuilt after being burned down in 1912.
Garyoro corridor, named after the resemblance to the back of a reclining dragon.
Mausoleum enshrining Toyotomi and Nene.
Shigure-tei teahouse constructed by bamboo and logs interwoven in a radiating pattern.
Next up on my house plans will be a bamboo forest.
After enjoying Kiyomizu-dera, I suggest walking down Matsubara Dori. Brace yourself for the hordes of people.
It’s worth it to try out the snacks and tea the shops offer to lure the tourists. One shop sold flatten mochi, which was chewy and delicious. In another, I picked up a snack sized bread filled with custard for only 60 yen. After consuming it, I wished I had bought more.
The machine in the back makes these bite sized snacks.
After wandering around Kyoto all day, we were starving and on the hunt for good food. After much research, we settled on Ganko Sanjo Honten. Like all good food in Japan, it is a chain so you don’t have to travel all the way to Kyoto to try it. I noticed them in every city we visited. They also have branches that serve only ramen or gyoza. It’s easy to spot as the tough Japanese chef is their logo and their entrances are known for its overwhelming displays of plastic food.
We sat at the counter and had an fun experience communicating with the chef as he only spoke Japanese and we knew little to none.
Toro, boiled crab, and salmon. Despite its appearance, the salmon was smooth and fresh; I ordered it twice.
Negi toro roll was nothing special.
I noticed everyone ordered eel, so I too had to try and it was deliciously sweet and toasted! The unagi had gone through the toaster twice. The uni in the back was mediocre. Sadly the chef served us from the bottom tray of uni, which didn’t look as nice as the top display tray.
Overall, the sushi was mediocre. Some were amazing, like the salmon and unagi, but nothing to fawn about.
Kiyomizu-dera is the temple of pure water because it was built around the Otowa waterfall, which flows spring water from the mountain. The temple has been burned down several times, a reoccurring theme in Japan it seems. The current buildings were rebuilt during the Edo period. The temple is now a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.
Deva Gate
West Gate
Hideously colored pagoda
The main hall (hondo) houses the eleven faced and thousands armed statue of Kannon. The infamous extended Kiyomizu stage is made out of wood 12 meters high and held together without nails.
No nails used to support the stage….
You may drink the water from the Otowa waterfall. Each stream represents longevity, academic success, or fortunate love life. You may drink from more than one stream but to drink from all three streams is seen as greedy.
Loved the spring mountain back drop.
View of Kyoto.
Secret pagoda for some peace and quiet away from the people pollution.
Kyoto is known for it’s love of desserts. Where ever you go in Kyoto, you will find plenty of shops selling matcha green tee ice cream. I didn’t catch the name of this place but it was on the way to Kiyomizu-dera.
The little old man that runs the place was adorable as he was the front man of the shop and also the behind the scenes man. He had to keep taking his shoes off to run to the back of his shop to fill up a cone. It was selling like hotcakes that the owner had to turn customers away because his ice cream machine broke down.
Home to the infamous thousands of red (vermillion) torii gates shrine. Below is the Romon Gate donated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1589. Behind it is Honden, the main shrine building.
Fushimi Inari is named after the mountain it sits atop, Mount Inari,
and the Shinto god of rice it gives homage to, Inari. Foxes are known to be Inari’s messengers. Therefore, you will see them everywhere before the shrines.
Beginning of the ascent to the thousands of red torii gates.
One of the many mini shrines that dot the mountain.
Senbon trail is the parallel rows of mini torii gates. Each torii gate is donated either by an individual or company in hopes of prosperity. The small gates start at 400,000 yen while the larger ones can cost up to 1 million yen.
One is not like the other.
After about a 40 min ascent, you will come across Yotsutsuji intersect with a view of Kyoto. Tip: Bring some snacks and water with you as it is mostly uphill. Onigiri is a small and filling snack. 7-11 offers a decent variety.
If you’re adventurous, you can continue the path for another 1.5- 2.5 hours to reach the full summit.
Kobe beef refers to the Tajima strain of wagyu beef, therefore, only wagyu from Kobe, Japan can be called kobe.
Tsurugyu is known for its grade A Kobe beef. This place is amazing melt in your mouth goodness. Be ready to drool over the following epic food.
Placing the hot, fiery coals to grill the luscious meat.
The most delicious cow tongue, which is then dipped in lemon, salt and pepper dipping sauce.
Two cuts of rib eye steak full of natural umami.
Close up natural beauty shot.
Melt in your mouth kalbi (short rib).
Marinated belly goodness.
Cold handmade noodle soup.
To end the meal, they provided an ume (plum) tea and matcha green tea.
Overall, this was the best meal I had in Japan.
We were lucky and got to sit at the counter and watch the chef prepare the meat. He also kept an eye on us to ensure we didn’t overcook any of the precious meat, which was fine with me since I believe the chef knows all. All of the beef was rich and melted in your mouth. Each cut of meat had a special dipping sauce, so it was swapped out with every cut of meat. All of this cost about 60 USD per person, which is cheap for kobe wagyu. A must try when in Osaka.
Umeda Sky building consists of a pair of skyscrapers connected by a floating garden observatory, depicted above, with a 360 degree view of Osaka. The mirrors reflect the sky to give the observatory a floating effect.
Osaka Castle played a major role in the unification of Japan in the sixteenth century. In 1583, Toyotomi Hideyoshi began the construction of the castle featuring eight stories, five stories main tower and three stories underground.
Despite it being an iconic landmark of Osaka, it has been rebuilt several times due to sieges and being burnt down multiple times. In 1615, Tokugawa Ieyasu seiged the castle from Toyotomi Hideyori, the heir of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
In 1620, it was reconstructed by Tokugawa Hidetatada, son of
Tokugawa Ieyasu. In 1655, lightning struck the main tower and burned it down. The current castle is a restoration, completed in 1997, representation of the Toyotomi period. The interior is now a museum of the history of Osaka Castle.
Before you is the amazing Osaka Castle. Just kidding. It’s one of the few remaining turrets.
The south half of the inner moat is grass while the north half is filled with water. This was how it was during the Toyotomi period and has remained that way since.
The inner stone wall was built in 1620 and still stands today. The granite boulders, from a rock quarry in Seto Inland Sea Rock, interlock together without mortar.
View of Osaka from the top floor with half of the golden Shachihoko. It is a mythical creature with a dragon head and fish body and symbolizes prestige and authority.
YUMTRAVELS 