Andrea and David's trip to Japan, July 2011

Day 19: 4-8-11 Kyoto - (Days 18 Day 20 - birdlist - bird gallery

After an early breakfast we headed for the bus 93, which took us from the far east to Arashiyama, the far west of the city. We changed to another bus to bring us closer to one of Kyoto's highlights, the Moss garden, Koedera or more correctly Saihoji. This is in essence a bit like the Lake District, moss, trees and water, except it is created rather than natural, and it was created in the 8th century. The pond forms the Kanji symbol for a heart, which means there are three islands linked by small bridges. In order visit, we had to send a stamped, addressed postcard to the temple office a week in advance, which we did in Kushiro on Hokkaido. Our visit started with a small Buddhist ceremony where sutras were chanted for the benefit of our ancestors to the accompaniment of a bell, a gong and wood percussion instrument which looked like a large gourd. We also had to write a wish on a piece of sandalwood. No photos. We then spent 1½ hrs walking round the garden itself enjoying the effects of changing light and the landscape effect of 120 species of moss. The effect both stunning and very relaxing. We were the last to leave of the 100 or so guests that day.

We ate an icecream (Andrea's was seaweed flavoured - we jest not), then took the bus back to Arashiyama, admired sands sculptures, the bridge and visited the Japanese macaque monkeys at the top of the hill. The fun thing was that the people were caged in to feed them. We observed a wilder pack on the way back down the hill. Found an excellent lunch and headed for the bamboo walk, which took us through the fine gardens of another temple, Tenryuji, a mere 700 years old - the temple buildings were the 8th on the site, since the others had all burnt down. The bamboo walk was also rather fine. After a rejuvenating cup of iced coffee and a glimpse into an unlisted temple, we walked to a small reservoir where we observed some crayfish fishing. Visited D2, a home market emporium, then caught the bus back to our local area and the game restaurant where enjoyed various delicacies.