The Hendersons in Himeji: Adventures in Kyoto

As I told you in a previous post, Audrey and I had really hoped to travel while we had some time off during the winter break. Thankfully, I was feeling well enough for us to make it to at least one of our destinations. So we got up early on Saturday morning and headed for the train station. Unfortunately, it was a pretty cold day, and there was a threat of rain but that wasnt going to deter us. Its about a 2 hour train ride from Himeji so we decided to make a day of it. We were able to put our "Frommer's Guide to Japan" (thanks Rick and Donna) to good use as we mapped out the many places we wanted to visit in Kyoto. Our book said that when we get off the train that we should go to the 9th floor of a certain department store in the station. On that floor there was supposed to be a a foreign travelers office that has maps of Kyoto in English. Well, after walking around the station for about 20 minutes we were not able to find the said department. Luckily, in our explorations of the train station we did find a tourist spot that also had maps in English. So with our map in toe, we headed strait to a bike shop where you can rent bikes for the day. The man that worked there spoke wonderful English and so we were ready to begin exploring. Just as we turned the corner onto the main road the clouds opened up and it started to rain. Well CRAP!! We rested under an overhang for a bit but then decided that we had come this far and already rented these bikes so were were not going to let a little bit of rain stop us. Our first stop was a place called Sanjusangendo. Sanjusangendo is the popular name, meaning "Hall with 33 Bays." It was founded in 1164 by order of the retired emperor Goshirakawa. The original temple was destroyed by fire in 1249; the present structure dates from its rebuilding in 1266. At 394 feet long, it is Japan's longest wooden building. Sanjusangendo is also known for the archery contest that takes place behind the temple each January. This contest is a ritual exercise that is meant to show young participants that an adult's life requires patience and self-control. We were very impressed by the history of the building and the beauty of the architecture and craftsmanship. After walking around for awhile we then had a 40 minute bike ride to the Japanese culture center where we looked forward to seeing an exhibit of traditional Japanese crafts. When we got there we quickly found out that it was closed. Not wanting to have ridden all this way without seeing something new, we took out the map in hopes of finding a place of interest in this area. We decided, with a little help from our Frommer's guide, that Heian Jingu was only about 5 minutes away so we should check it out. When we arrived we quickly found that this was the place to be. There were many people going for their first shrine visits for the year and out in front there was a bunch of street vendors lined up selling what I call "Japanese fair food". So we walked around the grounds and marveled at the architecture and for a bit, grabbed some Karage (fried chicken) and headed to our next destination. By this time it was almost 4:30 and we had to have our bikes back by 7:00. So we headed back toward the station to our final stop of the day, Kiyo-mizudera. Now this temple was very difficult to find as it was tucked up in a mountain side. The building is a Japanese National treasure that was built almost 400 years ago. Due to its placement in the mountain, the main building has amazing views of the city of Kyoto. Beneath the main hall there are three waterfalls. People believe that they have therapeutic properties and that one stream is for health, one for prosperity and one for longevity. But you can only drink from two because if you drink from all three that is considered being greedy and you would have bad luck. After walking around the complex we headed back to the bike shop and hopped back on a train to Himeji. Audrey and I had so much fun spending the day together exploring such a beautiful Historic city here in Japan. We learned so much about Japanese culture and traditions and were awed by their architecture and craftsmanship. We look forward to many more trips like this and hope that they help us better understand and appreciate Japan and all the beauty it has to offer.