Japanese Temples

We visited numerous temples on the tour, at least five major ones and countless smaller ones that we stumbled upon on independent walks around our hotels.

The one pictured above, Senso-ji was the last one we saw, and it is significant because it is the oldest one in Japan (originally built around 650AD). An avenue of tourist shops lines the way to the temple and it was packed with people. I was on a mission to find Michael a Kokeshi doll and I was running out of time. Our tour guide assured me that I could find one on this street. I did locate them, in a tiny shop about the size of our bathroom (which is very small). It was packed with a group of teenagers and there was barely room to breathe. Fortunately, a lady working in the shop retreived the doll from the top shelf and even wrapped it for me. I told Michael later that I now understood his panic attacks. My shopping excursion caused me to miss going inside the temple, but I was happy that I got the doll.

Notice a lot of people are wearing kimonos. There were numerous places to rent them on the street.

Now to the very first place we visited on our first day after the bullet train trip from Tokyo to Kyoto. It was a temple called Kiyomizu-dera. It was actually a complex of temples located at the top of a hill. Along the way, a narrow street was jam packed with small gift shops. Again, the crowd was intolerable. You could barely walk. I was worried that the entire trip would be like this but fortunately it was not. 

Despite the crowds, this was my favorite temple because of the orange!

Claustrophobia, anyone?

I was hesitant to walk across the deck of this one. I cannot imagine the weight from all the people packed on top of it. Yikes!

Down below it, you could see the support so I felt better.

One of our tour guides, Minori, tells us about the history of the temple.

Here I am with Lois, our tour organizer. We were in good hands!

We were at this temple very late, just as the sun was setting.

The Great Buddha Hall, located in the city of Nara, was massive (the largest wooden structure in the world) and contains a huge statue of Buddha that measures over 50 feet in height. 

At Tenryu-gi in Kyoto, I was excited to see a group of tree pruners. Prior to the trip, I read a book that Lois recommended - Cutting Back: My Apprenticeship in the Gardens of Kyoto by Leslie Buck. It was a woman's account of her experiences working in Kyoto gardens. It was exciting seeing these people in action.

 

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy