" Hello Kyoto "

One thing I learned when visiting Kyoto, be prepared to
arm yourself with info's about temples.
There are lots of them! ^-^

Although, I've seen temples from the smallest to the grandest.
There's always something appreciative in visiting one.
In a japanese temple, the structures are simpler, a garden is a must,
an almost Zen type of feel to it and the sacred smell of incense emanating
around the area.
We only managed to visit two of them.
This is Part One of Kyoto.


= The Sanjusangendo Temple :
we were blessed with good weather despite the cold that
it's almost hard to take a good picture bec, of the sun.


made of wood and a bit outdated,
that when you look inside, you'd see how dated it has been.
You're not allowed to go further bec. it's not sturdy.

with a brief history: (wikipedia)

Sanjūsangendō (三十三間堂= 33 ken (length) hall) is a Buddhist temple in
Higashiyama District of Kyoto, Japan, known as "Rengeō-in" (蓮華王院),
or Hall of the Lotus King.
It is run by the Myoho-in temple, a part of the Tendai school of Buddhism.
The temple name literally means
Hall with "thirty three spaces between columns" ,
describing the architecture of the long main hall of the temple.


A shrine that has some inspiring writings on it.


Before entering a temple here in Japan.
It is customary to cleanse or purify oneself,
use the ladle to lift water out to wash both your hands, rinse your mouth--
do not drink from the ladle--before spitting the water out.
Do not spit in the fountain and to clap as a sign of respect.


Once in inside the temple, this is the 1st thing you'd see.
a view of the garden.
I love its orange theme and the trees are so neat that it almost looks
like bonsai trimmed.


then there was this peculiar looking slanted tree, it almost seems
like it's going to fall any second but amazing how this tree has turned out.



a close look at the roofing details.



Gong!
Now i don't know what this bell is for, but I'm pretty sure the monks used
this for certain occasions.
you know how when you travel esp. with a tour group and there's only one guide
explaining bits and pieces, it's sometimes hard to catch up.
On the other hand, I have to savour every moment, while listening to its history, while busy taking fotos, whoa! talk about multi tasking and don't forget,
time is of the essence here. ^-^


In every temple, there's usually a place where people can pray for there wishes.
an array of boxes marked with numbers and sticks where you draw out a particular number that would signify what it means,
where one asks for advice about future, health, love etc.
When one's lucky, you get good advice about life, but when it's bad,
it's customary to tie it in these branches and the monks will pray over them.
(I hope I explained it correctly though.)



and are these momiji leaves so real that it almost looks surreal.
they are really beautiful. ^0^


looking out on the bus along the streets of Kyoto...


and for lunch that day, we had veggie inspired shabu-shabu.