Willow

Now, we are on to photos of Tō-ji 「東寺」 in Kyoto. This is a shot with the famous pagoda in the distance. In the spring, summer and fall, all these plants are a riot of colors and Japanese garden sensibilities, but even in the winter, there is so much green and structure that it's not boring to look at. Which is why Japanese gardens are amazing IMO.

::::: 東寺の情報 :::::

Tō-ji is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, with it's main feature being the tall, five stepped pagoda. The temple was founded in 796 in the Heian period of Japan, where it was only one of three Buddhist temples allowed in the capital at the time, and is the only one of the three to remain. The pagoda is 54.8 meters tall, and is the tallest wooden tower in the country. The pagoda is from the Edo period (c 17th C to 19th C)

Entrance to the pagoda itself is very limited, open only a few days a year. When we arrived, we didn't know it, but it was one of those days! So, we were able to get an amazing look inside this amazing wood structure, at the scriptures and sculptures it houses. While you cannot take photos inside, suffice to say it's amazing how well the paintings have held up, considering they are done on the wood of the temple itself, and inside, you can still see the paint on the amazing carvings of various Buddha's enshrined within. It was overwhelmingly beautiful, as this entire temple is.

::::: 新年の休暇 :::::

Over our new years break, we were able to get to finally go on our first real trip in Japan. Of course we went to Kyoto - it is the only place I really cared to see, and I cannot wait for any chance to return. It is beautiful, and so ridiculously full of inspiration to me it's almost overwhelming. It was a whirlwind tour, however, and we hit every major temple and shrine we could. We started right off the Shinkansen and hopped another train to Fushimi, to visit the Fushimi-Inari shrine (the one with the hundred of red tori gates lining the path to the main temple). Since it was a major holiday (new years) it was packed and then some, but still amazing none the less, even with the crush of people.

After that, we hit places such as Toji Temple, the Imperial Palace (which was sadly closed over the holiday), Kiyomizudera, Kinkakuji, and a ton of other temples and shrines that we just wandered into. While all of them were very busy because of the holiday, it was such a wonderful experience that I hope we get to see again (maybe not in the middle of winter next time!). We didn't get to spot any geisha or maiko, but Kyoto was wonderful regardless. We finished up our trip with a visit to Osaka before our flight back to Fukuoka, and got to see Osaka Castle!

Tumblr : Instagram : Flickr

Tō-ji 「東寺」 : January 3, 2014
Kyoto, Japan
 京都　　　日本