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The old imperial capital's bountiful fall foliage
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Things have been going very well between me and my new girlfriend, Mayu, which means this entry is showing quite an upward trend from the last. Aside from the obvious compatibility in terms of personality and so on, we both share that one vitally important interest: travel! We've only been together for about a month now, and we've already gone on several trips together. A couple weeks back we did a pair of smaller jaunts out to Okazaki and Ise (in fairly close proximity to Nagoya), and now we've followed the crowds to ever-beloved Kyoto.
As it's now approaching late November, people across Japan are flocking to popular sightseeing spots to take in the praised autumn leaves. Hands down the biggest destination for this modern pilgrimage is Kyoto, in particular its districts of Arashiyama and Higashiyama. Japanese people wax rhapsodical about Arashiyama in the fall, and they hit in droves. I had never been there before, so Mayu and I decided to check it out first thing on our daytrip from Nagoya.
We made sure to grab a bullet train out of town as early as we could tolerate this morning. Hopping over to the JR San-in line after getting in to Kyoto Station, we were able to arrive in Arashiyama right about 9am. That gave us all of about an hour to enjoy the relative peace and quiet before the tour buses arrived. The famed Togetsu-kyo bridge over the Hozu-gawa was still fairly lively with shutterbug tourists (like myself, actually!) when we got there, but not anywhere near as slammed as it usually would be during this season. By the time we walked
back northwards to the Zen temples of Hogon-in and Tenryu-ji, however, the number of wandering couples, gaggles of 20-something women and groups of elderly tourists had ratcheted up considerably.
The brilliant reds of the Japanese maples and other surrounding foliage in the area more than justified heading out to the area though. With the forested hills taking on a gorgeous tapestry of fall colors, it was understandable why Arashiyama was so popular. The subtle beauty of the temple gardens helped make the flood of people easier to tolerate as well, even if you did have
to battle past hordes of gawking old women just to get a good picture. The tourist literature we had picked up detailed a long walking tour through the area, which we followed long enough to get a good overview. After making our way northwards to the charming temple of Nison-in, we then started to head back towards the buses bound for central Kyoto.
Although it would be the third time for me to visit it in about a year's time, I wanted to make a brief stop at Kinkaku-ji. The first time I was there, I didn't have a digital camera, and the second time - during the summer - the pond in the garden was too murky to get a nice reflection. I thought I'd try for the old "third time's the charm." Just getting out of Arashiyama and back to northwestern Kyoto (not
even the center!) took about an hour, the traffic was so awful. Mayu was feeling pretty hungry by the time we got to the bus stop outside Kinkaku-ji, so we knew we'd have to track down some food in a short matter of time. Fortunately, the crowds at the temple - while not small, by any stretch of the imagination - didn't hold us up too much and we were able to enjoy the grounds fully without having to constantly jostle for a view. Better still, the pond was clear and still as a mirror, providing a fantastic reflective surface to photograph the pavilion.
The two of us stopped in at a small, rustic udon shop in the vicinity for lunch, then proceeded to Daitoku-ji. Somewhat overlooked by visitors compared to many of Kyoto's other major sights, the Zen complex of Daitoku-ji is one of my favorites in town. The complex consists of
about twenty-four smaller temples, but most are not open to the public. The overall atmosphere is much quieter than many other places in the city, and the complex is spread-out enough to disperse most crowds. I particularly had it in mind to visit its Zen subtemple of Koto-in, notable for its exquisite moss garden. Knowing that the garden was liberally sprinkled with Japanese maples, I thought we'd have the perfect opportunity to see it in all its autumn glory. Alas, the ideal conditions of Arashiyama had not yet appeared in central Kyoto. Evidently the mountainside setting of the former was considerably different from the center of town, where many trees still hadn't fully changed yet. Regardless, there was still plenty to enjoy in the garden, so Mayu and I spent a good while taking in the minimalistic elegance of the temple.
By the time we left Daitoku-ji, it was already getting towards late afternoon, which meant we had precious little sunlight left. Returning southwards by subway, we got off at the Imperial Palace Park for a ramble about the area. It was my first time to visit the park, and I was quite surprised by the size of it. For all the luxury that might be associated with its name, it's really just a big green spot in the city, largely used by joggers and active couples wanting to go for a long walk. Since we were quickly losing our remaining minutes of daylight, we didn't stick around too long.
We got back to the Kamo-gawa area just across from Pontocho right at dusk. The flash of neon signs and warm light of lanterns were already illuminating the numerous dining and entertainment spots along the river, making for an evocative scene against the darkening skies. We walked on down to Yasaka-jinja in the middle of Gion to take in some of the nighttime activity around there. Knowing that numerous temples had nightly light-ups of the foliage during this time, we thought we'd try and check some out before it was time to head home. Kodai-ji was the first such temple we came to, but we were dismayed to see a queue stretching endlessly around several corners. Quickly deciding against that, we walked on towards Kiyomizu-dera, hoping that we'd have better luck there. Unfortunately, the masses were even worse there, with a thick wall of people stretching halfway down the long slope of Kiyomizu-zaka. Clearly the cards were stacked against us, so Mayu and I decided we'd be better off just heading back to the station.
It'd be nice to spend a little longer in town, but unfortunately we both have to work tomorrow. Anyhow, it was good to at least spend a day in the city, even if it took us twice as long to see half as much as would in any other season! One of these days I'll have to come during cherry blossom season - there is perhaps nothing more quintessentially Japanese than a Kyoto temple amidst the sakura.
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| 12. | The old imperial capital's bountiful fall foliage - Kyoto, Japan Nov 21, 2004 (  12 ) |
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