[RD] Exploring Japan

[warpus]

I went with the Wagyu beef, judging by how much I remember paying (I looked up the exchange rate for that date). I did see the additions you could make, but since I was paying for the highest quality beef, and it was all you can eat, I did not want to pay even more and distract from my Wagyu eating experience.

The bill, after everything, including two beers, came to about $75 USD. I found that more than reasonable, considering how good the food was. In my budget this was itemized as my first splurge meal of the trip. I had room for a couple more of those

After I devoured my last order of beef, I was very very full. I ate a lot of beef.. and some mushrooms and vegetables too, and some of the noodles. But the beef was the star of the show. I had room for absolutely nothing else after the last piece of beef was consumed

 

[warpus]

Day 11 - Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

On this day I found myself on the western side of town, as opposed to the eastern. My first destination was the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, which is named after the mountain range which borders the city in the west. It is also the name of the district the bamboo forest is in. I found the district and scenery a bit different from what I found in the east, but I couldn't really explain it.

The bamboo forest is quite popular with tourists..

 

[Arakhor]

That's a lot of bamboo.

 

[warpus]

I can't say how big the grove is exactly, but it took about 10 minutes to walk from one end to the other

Here is what it looks like at night

 

[warpus]

I ran into a musician performing among the bamboo trees. He goes by the name Cojicose

You can find more of his music here

 

[Arakhor]

The night image is very pretty.

 

[warpus]

Ninna-ji Pagoda

This post is out of order. Ninna-ji is the temple I went to after I was done with the area around the bamboo forest. However, I did not make any notes for any of these days, and seems I wasn't paying enough attention..

The following is actually a shot of the northern hills bordering Kyoto, not the western

 

[Arakhor]

That's a really pretty temple. Thank you for sharing.

 

[warpus]

I made a mistake! Those photos aren't from that beautiful temple, they're from the next temple I went to, afterwards, in a different part of Kyoto. I have updated that post, and it will now be out of order, as a reminder of my lack of attention to detail. I have also added an extra photo of the pagoda for your viewing pleasure

 

[warpus]

Tenryū-ji Temple

Tenryū-ji Temple was completed in 1345 and is considered to be the top of the "Five Mountain" temples in Kyoto. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The temple grounds are beyond beautiful.. They are set in a very picturesque spot and include many beautiful gardens. It was one of my favourite temples in Kyoto, and I wish I had spent more time here..

 

[warpus]

Kameyama Park

This park is nestled right in between the bamboo forest, the Tenryuji Temple grounds, and the Katsura River. I wasn't going to come here, because one of the main attractions are monkeys... but it's really close, so I figured I might as well.

If you're curious why I might not want to get close to monkeys, you can check my Thailand thread. A monkey bit me on that trip, which cost me over $400 and made my trip a lot more complicated than it had to be.. not to mention stressing me out quite a bit in the process. So now I don't go anywhere near monkeys in the wild. I'm pretty sure the above sign is a warning about how evil monkeys can be

This park has a beautiful lookout point, which was the main reason I eventually decided to come here. I'm glad that I did

 

[warpus]

Ryōan-ji Temple

After successfully avoiding coming in contact with any monkeys in Kameyama Park, I made my way to Ninna-ji temple and pagoda, which is about an hour away on foot to the north-east. That post already exists, out of order, although the temple does not really stand out that much compared to what you've seen, so I will no be posting any photos of it (except for the pagoda, which is definitely worth a look). I believe I took a bus to get there.

Afterwards I made my way to Ryōan-ji temple, which is a 15 minute walk away. Ryōan-ji is a Zen Buddhist temple built in 1450.

It's possible to walk around this whole lake, north of which are the main temple grounds. The scenery is very green and pretty

This temple has one of the finest surviving examples of karesansui (dry landscape rock garden). I didn't get any great pictures of it, because I was unaware of the significance of this at the time. And to be honest, I was more impressed with the karesansui pictures you've already seen from a previous temple. I'm obviously not an expert though.. Here is a picture of the garden:

 

[warpus]

Kinkaku-ji Temple

The official name of this temple is actually Rokuon-ji (Deer Garden Temple), but most people refer to it as the Golden Pavilion Temple, which is what Kinkaku-ji means. It's a Zen Buddhist temple and is one of the most popular buildings in Kyoto.

I got advice from mutiple people to not come here, due to the crowds.. But it was a 20 minute walk away from the last temple, so why not.. In the end I didn't mind the crowds and this ended up being one of my favourite sightseeing spots in Kyoto. It's just so picturesque and unique.

Some of you might have already figured out (or known) that the -ji part of the name translates to "Temple", making the second "Temple" in the title redundant. However, I will continue to use this naming standard to make things easier for those who are not familiar with Japanese.. which is probably most people here

 

[warpus]

Right by the exit out of the temple grounds is a building in which several women were practicing Japanese caligraphy, also known as shūji

 

[amadeus]

I'm pretty sure the above sign is a warning about how evil monkeys can be.

Beware of wild monkeys!

• do not approach the monkeys
• do not play with the monkeys
• do not make eye contact with the monkeys
• do not feed the monkeys

Kyoto Public Works Dept.

 

[warpus]

Thank you for translating!

That is indeed very good advice

 

[FriendlyFire]

monkey bit me on that trip, which cost me over $400 and made my trip a lot more complicated than it had to be.. not to mention stressing me out quite a bit ]

That is hilarious
Wild animal mouths do contain many diseases, but did you not take shots before traveling to what is a second world country ?

 

[warpus]

That is hilarious
Wild animal mouths do contain many diseases, but did you not take shots before traveling to what is a second world country ?

Yes, of course I did. I always walk into a travel clinic before every trip and get the recommended set of shots.

The problem is that a wild monkey could be infected with rabies. Travel clinics never recommend a rabies vaccine before a trip. You'd need rabies shots after the bite anyway, which is probably why.

 

[warpus]

Yuba Ankake Soba

I was all templed out for the day and ready to eat! Luckily enough I found a restaurant nearby named after the Golden Pavillion Temple which got great reviews and offered dishes I had not yet tried. Usually I'd be weary of a restaurant named after a popular tourist spot, but after doing a bit of reading I was convinced that the restaurant was a good choice.

The restaurant (Gontaro Kinkakuji) was about a 10 minute walk from the temple and put me very close to a bus stop where I could catch a bus all the way back to my hostel. They specialize in soba and udon noodles served in a house speciality dashi stock. When I arrived I discovered that the restaurant is housed in a very pretty wooden building, possibly quite a bit old as well. There was nobody else in the restaurant that I could see, although it's possible there was an upper level with dining patrons. It was all very quaint and a bit rustic. Seemed like an old fashioned place where you can go and relax a bit, while eating a good homemade meal.

I ended up ordering the Yuba Ankake Soba, which is a soup made with dried tofu (Yuba), duck meat, bamboo shoots, and the restaurant's dashi stock. Dashi is a fish stock and usually also forms the base for miso soup. Soba refers to the buckwheat noodles hidden inside the dried tofu (which looks like cabbage, and that's what I thought it was at the time). Sitting atop the packaged up ingredients is a bit of ginger. I don't know if I ate this thing the way you're supposed to, but the instructions say to slowly melt the ginger, a little bit at a time.

It was an interesting dish, but I can't really describe it very well, after all this time. The whole dining experience was definitely memorable, with the quaint setting, the peaceful atmosphere, and the interesting dish.

 

[FriendlyFire]

Warpus why is there an empty plate ?
Did you get given some free umm finger food ?