Japan Blog 3 - Shrines and Temples

Hello Kitten Feathers <3

Welcome back to my blog! Or, if you a new kitten visiting, thanks for choosing to stop by and read about my life and adventures! Today, we are on to Japan blog number three (I can’t believe it either; I’m actually getting these written!)!

While touring around Japan, we had the great pleasure of visiting many beautiful shrines and temples. It was a truly amazing experience; coming from Australia, some of the places we visited have been standing since before our country was founded. Everything was so awe-inspiring and it really hit home how old some things in this world are! 

Let me start with the beautiful Goshuin book my partner collected as we toured temples.  With his permission, I have photographed the book to share with you.

I will share with you information on each shrine or temple in the order that they appear in the book.

 Kinkakuji (金閣寺, Golden Pavilion)

This was the first temple we visited in Kyoto and it did not disappoint. Even the walk up from the bus stop was beautiful; the changing leaves made it spectacular and serene. Once you purchased a really cute Kinkakuji ticket to enter the grounds, there was a long walk around the Golden Pavilion and the gardens, complete with little shrines and waterfalls hidden all around the place.  

 As you can see, the temple itself was just amazing and the photographs we took just don’t do it any justice! There was a little shop as we walked through the gardens; here I purchased myself a “dreams come true” charm.

No Pokémon fans visit to the Golden Pavilion would be complete without a sighting of the legendary Ho-Oh, which we managed to do! I was just sad I didn’t have a Master Ball on me! >.<’

Also, a cute note while having ice cream after the actual temple visit, we were lucky to meet some middle-school kids from Tsukumi in Oita. They were hoping we could stop by and visit their home town. Next time we are in Japan, we hope to do exactly that.

Ginkakuji (銀閣寺, Silver Pavilion)

Our second temple stop in Kyoto was on the other side of town. The Ginkakuji temple was a much further walk from the bus stop than the Kinkakuji, but no less beautiful. The long walk took us up a fall-tree-lined street with a small stream, which made for a relaxing experience. 

Again, there was a cute seal ticket to get in, yet this temple had a very different feel to the Golden Pavilion. The grounds were serene with many different kinds of gardens. The walk through this temple was soothing and the views back across Kyoto city were breathtaking. 

Sadly, there were no sightings of Lugia at this temple, though I think he prefers a cool cave under the waters of the ocean. We did try some soy-fried rice balls in the shopping street though; can highly recommend giving them a try! :D

Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社, Fushimi Inari Taisha)

This was by far one of my favourite places to visit. I really loved the tori gates and the size of this place! Getting to this shrine was easy once we worked out Kyoto station J and it was very easy to get to the shrine from there. I really loved the buildings and markets here. 

We walked to the first length of tori gates but as it was getting late and dark getting through the whole mountain and around was going to be a little hard. So, we choose to walk back down towards the station. At the shrine, I purchased myself a lucky fox to keep on my desk while working. Isn’t he cute?

On our way back down to the station we were able to try custard Taiyaki … They were really good! I wanted to go back for seconds! We didn’t manage to though, so I sneakily sampled a couple of gasha pons on the way. 

Kiyomizudera (清水寺, literally "Pure Water Temple")

This temple was visited also on my kimono day and I am so glad we choose to do it this way. Kiyomizudera is a beautiful temple and wandering around the grounds was lovely. As with Kinkakuji and Ginkakuji we had to purchase tickets to get in, but once in we could spend as long as we liked there. Unfortunately, there are major renovations going on at the temple so we didn’t get to see as much of it as we would have liked to, but what we saw was still amazing!

Yasaka Shrine (八坂神社, Yasaka Jinja)

This was an unplanned stop on our way back to return my kimono. Sadly, I did not take many pictures, but I do recommend stopping by here if you are in Gion. Like at Kinkakuji, we were stopped by some lovely middle-school students who asked us some questions about where we were from and what we were all about. :) 

Meiji Shrine (明治神宮, Meiji Jingū)

Meiji Shrine was a nice walk and a relaxing take-away from the craziness that is Harajuku. Walking the long roads and seeing all the beautiful flowers and trees made you forget that you were near one of the busiest places in Tokyo. The huge tori gates and beautiful shrine grounds made the walk into forest of Yoyogi Park well worthwhile. 

I really loved the feel of this place and the shrine maidens made me think of Rei from Sailor Moon. It was just an awe-inspiring feeling. I decided on a fortune from Meiji; it was not a bad fortune for me and I thought it was very fitting for my dreams right now.

Sensoji (浅草寺, Sensōji, also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple)

Sensoji Temple and the Kaminarion were actually the first place we visited in Tokyo as far as temples and shrines go. Asakusa was amazingly busy but I do recommend dropping by here if you have time while in Tokyo. I was really awe-stuck by how huge this place was and how beautiful. The huge market leading up to the temple is well worth the look; even if you don’t plan to buy it’s full of traditional and not-so-traditional wares.

We did not get a Goshuin here as we were not sure where or how to get it at the time, which I regret, though there is always next time and we have a lot more experience and understanding of how to go about it. However, I did get a lucky bell and fortune from this shrine. It was quite interesting that both my Meiji and Sensoji fortunes had very similar messages. I guess I’ll have to keep working hard! XD

Visiting shrines and temples in Japan is an absolute must and I highly recommend you include at least one or two on your holiday. They are truly amazing sites that, even if you aren’t into places of worship, are worth checking out! Visiting so many made me want to see even more, but sadly we did not have infinite time to do so.

Here are my tips for making temple and shine visits fun:

Be prepared for large crowds. There will be school groups, tourist groups and so on. If you take a deep breath and take your time, if you are not on a tour. Trust me it works, it’s what we did.

Take coins and small notes; lots of them. Other than you fee to get in, all the charms and Goshuin can only be paid for with cash. Most of the time you are looking at ¥1,000 or less for these things so having the right change in coins and notes is the best way to go! 

Also, other than all the above-listed things prayer offering and fortune boxes normally take coins; we used about ¥50 to pray each. 

Wear comfortable shoes. This is a must; most shines don’t have fully sealed paths and are up, on or include hills/stairs on the grounds. Quality, comfortable shoes will help you survive this! 

Be patient. These places are busy. There are loads of tourists, both foreign and local. This means there are lines, hold ups and delays. Like I said earlier, take a deep breath slow down and take your time; it’ll make this all worthwhile!

Well, that’s all for now Kitten Feathers! I hope this little blog has inspired you to visit some temples or shrines the next time you are in Japan. Please feel free to ask me any questions if you have them! <3

As always, stay Kawaii and I’ll catch you next time.

Love

Miss Nightfeathers xoxo

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