By Lynn Strough
This is the sixth installment chronicling the adventures of Lynn Strough, a local artist and writer who’s been traveling the world since November 2014. Lynn’s travels have (so far) taken her to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Slovenia, Croatia, Ireland, England, France, Italy… and I’m sure we’re forgetting a few destinations. To learn more about her journey, go here.
Kyoto is a city of contrasts – modern buildings and very old temples, the latest fashions and traditional kimonos. It’s the kind of place I envision when I think of Japan.
My first morning in Kyoto, I navigated the train system to get to Fushimi Inari, the temple of 10,000 gates (which should also be called the temple of a million steps). It sits at the base of a mountain with thousands of giant red gates all in a long row snaking upward, which you walk through, following the path past many smaller temples or shrines.
It leads up to a view at the top looking out over Kyoto. It’s about four kilometers and takes about two hours to walk up, and is totally worth the effort, not just for the view, but for the experience of all of the different things to see along the way.
The entrance was jam-packed with people, and the usual money-making things like fortune telling in various forms – the sticks in a tube, the place to hang bad fortunes out to dry, and tons and tons of food booths selling mostly things I didn’t recognize.
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Many foxes are found in Inari shrines, and Inari is the god of rice. You can purchase a small fox-shaped board and put your own fox face or message on it to leave behind.
From there, I wandered to the Gion area, which is the “old Kyoto” where women dressed in Geisha garb hang out. Some are “real” geishas and many more “pretend” geishas – there are actually kimono rental shops!
On my way there I accidentally stumbled upon a park, so I headed through instead of taking the direct map route, and discovered Kennin ji, a Zen temple & garden – what a happy accident! I’d been trying to find what I thought was a Zen temple on the map this morning, with no luck, and here I found one when I wasn’t looking!
It was beautiful, with a rock garden raked in circles and swirling lines, lovely rooms with tatami mats and square green cushions, and amazing paintings. Girls dressed like geishas posed for photographers, and a couple of them took a selfie with me.
Also while not looking, I ran into a dance show venue where tickets were about to go on sale, and someone was handing out sheets for a discount, another happy accident. The show included a bit of traditional music, flower arranging, tea ceremony, comedy play, Kyoto dance, and puppet theater. It was a bit touristy but still worth seeing.
Gion at night is a sight to behold. In Kyoto, you can also visit Nijo Castle and visit the Golden Pavillion, Kinkakuji.
You can visit amazing ceramics shops and a gallery where 102 different artists works are displayed, all tea ceremony related, contemporary as well as traditional, and shop in places that just sell Japanese fans…
You can attend a Japanese tea ceremony, where they will show you all of the intricacies involved. It’s quite fascinating, full of way too many details for me to remember. But then it’s also sort of meditative. Even the tea scoop has a name. This one translated to something like “cherry blossoms that float like snow in spring.”
Later, dinner with a new Swiss friend, Ruth, at a local’s joint, sitting at the bar eating dumplings and beer. A great way to end the day.
Even without your own kimono and tea bowl, you can have a lovely time in the beautiful Japanese city of Kyoto!
About Lynn Strough
Lynn is a 50-something year old woman whose incarnations in this life have included graphic designer, children’s book author and illustrator, public speaker, teacher, fine art painter, wine educator in the Napa Valley, and world traveler. Through current circumstances, she has found herself single, without a job or a home, and poised for a great adventure.
“You could consider me homeless and unemployed, but I prefer nomad and self-employed, as I pack up my skills and head off with my small backpack and even smaller savings to circumnavigate the globe (or at least go until the money runs out). Get ready to tag along for the ride…starting now!”
All images copyright Lynn Strough and Travelynn Tales
Reprinted with permission
