golden-pavilion - faqjapan.com

Today I decide to check out another temple. I lazily take the subway train just one stop, then change for the bus. The bus takes fifteen minutes and costs me 230. My destinationisRokuon-ji Temple. One part of the temple grounds is called Kinkaku-ji, or the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. This is probably the most famous temple in Kyoto, and one of the most popular buildings in Japan.nIn 1994, Rokuon-ji Temple was registered as a World Cultural Heritage Site. The Golden Pavilion is covered withgold foil on lacquer. A spectacular building. Breathtaking. Bright gold, itsits idly on an island in the middle of a lake, surrounded by beautiful Zen gardens. Even the vending machines here sell disposable cameras; the Golden Pavilion crying out to be photographed.nnnnnThe entry fee isjust400; the ticket made from beautiful paper and written with expert calligraphy. The path snakesits way through the belfry, passes the abbots chamber, the pond, the Golden Pavilion, Galaxy Spring, the Sekka-tei Tea House; all the while, shrouded by the mysterious mountainsthat make upthe backdrop. It is a wonderful route and takes me abouttwenty minutes at an unhurried pace. Along the way, littlewooden shacks selling souvenirs lure in tourists.nAfterRokuon-ji Temple, I take a bus to Kyoto Station. From the station, I walk back to Kawaramachi Station. On the way, I pass Kyoto Tower, although I dont go inside. I have had enough 360-degree panoramic views this month to last me a lifetime.nnAs I walk away from Kyoto Tower, I see some signs. One of them says that bicycles parked on the streets of Kyoto will be removed, and a2300 fine will be issued on collection of the bicycle. Another sign says that Kyoto is a no smoking city, and anyone seen smoking on the streets is subject to a 1000 fine. A third sign says that littering grants a30000 fine. I like Kyoto for this, although how often these fines are actually enforced who knows. Sometimes it feels like Japan is inside agiganticPanopticon.nI see a sign saying, Now, Life is living you. There is an entrance to yet another temple beyond the sign;Higashi Honganji Temple. I cross over a moat of water filled withlily pads and approach the wonder. The temple too has a cleansing basin with a water-breathing dragon; it must be a Kyoto thing.nnThe Goeido Hall is the second largest wooden structure in Kyoto.It is alsoone of the worlds largest wooden structures. The garden a place ofNational Scenic Beauty.Shinran sect is the type of Buddhism here. In 1532 a Nichiren Buddhism sect felt that the Shinran sect was becoming too powerful, so they burned downthe temple.nI continue my walk back toward Downtown Kyoto. I sawa sign yesterdayon the train advertising an art exhibition at the Museum of Kyoto. The museum is only ten minutes walk from my hostel. I pass a shop called, Eggs and Things, it has a queue of at least thirty women, all standing outside boiling, like the eggs, in the 33CKyoto heat. I walk up four random steps, cross a road, then walk down four more random steps. This confusingsign occurs on the steps:nnAt theMuseum of Kyoto, I go to seethe opening of the Space Brothers exhibition. Men from the Koyama Astronomical Observatory are giving a one-off presentation at 2 pm; the time right now. The presentation is entirely in Japanese. Aman is talking whilstpointing at a projector with a red laser pen. The television people are here too; five big cameras and two microphones on sticks capturingevery image and every word.nSpace Brother is aJapanese manga telling the story oftwo brothers dreaming aboutbecoming astronauts. Thisis the first large-scale exhibit of the authorChuya Koyamas work. Over two hundred pieces of original illustrations are on display. Mixed in with the art is a selection of replicas of space uniforms and models of rockets; all borrowed from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).nnThere is an audio guide in Japanese narratedby two of the voice actors from the Anime series. Spread over two floors, the exhibition also features videos that show the moon landing, real satellites in glass boxes, model rockets, a whole section about Apo the dog, and real meteorites. All for the ticket price of 1000. The museum restaurant even has a space-themed menu. Pocari Sweat has a stand here too; write your message and they will send it to the moon when they make their interstellar flight next year.nAs I make my exit through the gift shop, I am tempted to buy something. I wouldnt usually bother, but this is space stuff. For a priceof1296, I buy Space Bread, and Space Ice Cream. Food that astronauts actually eat when on missions tospace, or when floating about on the International Space Station. I will now shamelessly quotethe tagline from the movie Alien: In space, no one can hear youicescream.nnI take my space snacks back to the hostel. The ice cream has the weight of polystyrene. It tastes nice though. If you can imagine chomping onsoft vanilla ice cream flavoured chalk that turns to powder with each bite. The texture is veryodd, but somehow, it still tastes like ice cream. The bread boringly tastes like bread. I am actually surprised how fresh it tastes though.nI sit on the roof terrace with my book for a while. Suddenly, sirens sound all around. Loads of sirens. Three fire engines, a police car, and an ambulance. They arrive at a building on the same block as the hostel. The 20-storey building has a fire on the twentieth floor. Firefighters scramble to the roof. One brave fireman hangs from a rope and abseils onto the balcony below.nnTwenty minutes later the fire is out, the sirens stop, the vehicles leave. I stay on the roof a little while longer, reading my book, Dance Dance Dance.In the distance, the sound of thunder bellows in the sky. As if acting like an early warning sign for the inevitable. The exact second the thunder stops, the raindrops.I decide to leave my book, for now, seeing as I am getting soaked. I grab a hostel umbrella and head for some food. I use the arcade to hide from the rain. A saxophone cover of Yesterday by the Beatles floods through the speakers.nI decide to eat Earth food. Kyoto style Okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is like a pancake, but the Japanese refer to it asa style of pizza. It is neither of the two. It consists of batter, cabbage,Okonomiyaki sauce, and shavings of smoked bonito. Smallflakes of aonori, a dried seaweed, are sprinkled over the dish to finish it off.nnMy table has a section in the middle with an iron griddle. The cooked pizza is slapped down in front of me. The fish shavings are moving around because of the heat; they look alive. I squeeze some mayonnaise over the top. The food tastes good, however, I am not overly keen on the sauce. The rest of the meal is great though. I add a sprinkle ofchilli powder to give it an extra kick.nSome places serveOkonomiyaki uncooked; just the raw ingredients. It is very much a do-it-yourself style dish. The meaning of the word is, what you like. You can ask forany topping or filling you want. I just pointed at the word vegetarian on the menu, because I didnt fancy going through the ordering process in Japanese. In total the mealcosts me 1010 with a glass of whisky.nI head back to the hostel,and as usual, finish up the night in thebar.nRead the next part of my Journey in Japan, where I take a trip to a temple between Kyoto and Nara, before hanging around with some deer by clicking here.

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