The Magnificent Kyoto: Bullet Trains, Ninjas and Finding the Meaning of Life

Kyoto is an industrial city in central Japan with a population of around 1,461,000.  It is the second largest city in Japan.  Founded in the 8th century, it was the capital (and emperor's residence) from 794 until 1868.  

Over the centuries, Kyoto was destroyed by many wars and fires, but due to its unprecedented historic value, the city was dropped from the list of target cities for the atomic bomb and spared from air raids during World War II.  Countless temples, shrines and other historically priceless structures survive in the city today.


I went on a day trip from Tokyo on a Hikari shinkansen (bullet train) on Sep 7th, 2010.  The comfortable train ride was 300 miles (246km) long each way.  The train made a few stops along the way in major cities like Nagoya.  The trip took 2h 45min each way.

There is a chocosk (chocolate kiosk) at the Tokyo main station!

I want to live in the city that has a chocosk!

Airplane style seating on the bullet train.

My reserved seat ticket for a Japan Rail (JR) bullet train called "Hikari".  This wasn't my first ticket for the ride that day.   I missed an earlier train (the doors literally closes before my nose) but luckily I had a weekly JR pass so I got a ticket for the next departure at no extra cost.  The bullet trains to Kyoto depart every half an hour.  The ice coffee is from a vending machine in the station. 

My breakfast junk-food line-up (clockwise): A latte in a tall bottle, a soft chocolate treat with a creamy chocolate filling, a strong, esspresso-style coffe, a rice-based treat with (sweet) beans and a bag of tasty little chocolate treats with a green tea coating.

My food and I, watching Tokyo scenery through the window.

Tokyo, as seen through the train window.

More peeking through the window.

The first stop on the way to Kyoto (still in the Tokyo area).

Tokyo suburbia.

More Tokyo suburbia.

More suburbia.

And even more Japanese suburbia.

Wii party, anyone?  The scrolling display overhead showed city names and announcements in Japanese and, every now and then, in English.

Another window seat view.

So, this is real Japan...

This glimpse of the ocean (the only time I saw it during my stay in Japan) made me very happy.

More Pacific Ocean.  The Sea of Japan is north of Japan while this is a southern view.

The distortion is due to the train's supersonic speed.  Just kidding - not quite supersonic.  This is a camera side-effect that happens when taking pictures in motion.  But the train was indeed really fast.

It was a stormy day, but I didn't care.  You don't go to Kyoto every day!

Enjoying my gadgets.

Arrived in Kyoto.

Bye bye, train.  The Japan Rail workers are super polite.  The conductor always bows to the passengers after he enters a train car to check tickets.  The lady with a push cart selling food and drinks does the same.

I thought so.

A shop at the Kyoto station.

A juice bar in the Kyoto station.

Magnificent architecture of Kyoto's main station. 

The scenery was so cinematic, I wished I could make a movie.

In a cab on the way to my first destination in Kyoto (the Golden Temple).

Rain in the streets of Kyoto.

A western-themed cafe called Colorado Masusan.

A street scene.

Political posters?

Approaching the Golden Temple.

Japanese school boys reading the map of the Golden Temple area.

The gate to the temple area.

The admission ticket.  Wow!

Kinkaku-ji (Golden Temple) in its full glory.  It is a Zen temple in northern Kyoto whose top two floors are completely covered in gold!  You can't get very close to such treasure, obviously.

On top of the temple is a bird - a phoenix - also made of gold.  There seems to always be someone raking the gravel around Japanese temples and shrines.  Anyway, this is the most famous of all temples in Japan.  Going to Japan and not seeing this is like going to Egypt and not seeing the pyramids.  The temple is mobbed by tourists in the summer but the rain on the day of my visit made it all less crowded and more enjoyable.

The Golden Temple was the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and according to his will it became a Zen temple after his death in 1408.

These Buddha stone carvings are hundreds of years old.  Getting bombarded by coins is probably not so good for their preservation, but tradition is very important here.

A serene spot perfect for a tea ceremony.

On to Heian Shrine next.

A nice walk through a peaceful residential neighborhood.

What does it say?  Am I going the right way?

Another peaceful family house.

A rare sign in English.

A nice old door near Heian Shrine.

This family walked in single file: the father first, followed by the daughter with the mother last.

Instead of finding the main entrance to Heian Shrine, I stumbled upon one of its satellite buildings first.  Not a soul there except an old man raking the gravel.

A phoenix on an administrative building near the shrine.

Another very old door.

I wasn't supposed to see this, much less take a picture of it: it's an archery lesson in an area of the shrine closed to the public.  I can't help being tall.  The shrubbery taller than me but I lifted the camera over my head to take this picture.  Maybe this is where ninjas train?

Finally the shrine, but no time left.  I had to move on to my next destination.

Entering Nanzen-ji, a Zen Buddhist temple established by Emperor Kameyama in 1291.

The temple area with its gardens was completely peaceful and amazing.  The rain (and an approaching typhoon) scared away most visitors.

An entrance to a traditional garden.

Totally Zen.

A koi pond.

There were many huge, brightly colored koi fish in the pond.

Another look at the vast pond.

A bamboo grove.

These fish are larger than my feet.

A wonderful, huge old temple.

An old bridge that looked like a roman aqueduct. 

Serenity.

Ancient lichens.  They can live hundreds of years but grow very slowly.

After visiting the peaceful Nanzen-ji, I took a taxi to my last destination in Kyoto: Kiyomizu-dera Temple.  I was in a taxi when I spotted this neat peace message in Japanese and English (see the close-up below).

I traveled around the world searching for the meaning of life and this is where I found it - next to a soda vending machine and a trash bin in Kyoto.  "MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH."

After a torrential downpour brought on by a typhoon, the skies suddenly cleared up and I started my ascent to the Kiyomizu-dera Temple. 

The steep street that leads up to Kiyomizu-dera is full of shops selling treats like these.

Yatsuhashi is a Japanese confectionery sold mainly as a souvenir sweet.  It is made from glutinous rice flour, sugar and cinnamon.

These yummy blocks are made of green tea.

Entering Kiyomizu-dera (the Clear Water Temple).

Korean lion-dogs (koma-inu) protect the entrance to the temple from evil.

What a view.  You can see all of Kyoto from here.  Where did the massive black storm clouds go??

A view of Kyoto.

Brought to you by FujiColor.

A Buddha.

Japanese tourists in Japan.

Women in traditional costumes.

Some Buddhas are not naked.

I started my walk down from the temple on a hill to the center of Kyoto.  On my way I encountered more great foods; yay.  On the left are some savory buns and on the right are frozen dessert buns.

This is what a beef bun looks like half eaten.  (After taking a break to take the photo, I definitely finished the second half.)  It was positively delicious.

A man making pottery.  As usually when taking pictures of Japanese people, here I had to be sneaky and pretend I was checking my phone.  They really don't like their pictures taken by strangers.

Another sneaky shot - more traditional costumes.

The name of this beer sounds funny in Serbian.

Almost in the center of Kyoto.

Crossing the Kamo River.

Kawaramachi and Kiyamachi streets run parallel to the Kamo River.

Walking down Kawaramachi-dori.

A Chinese restaurant in Kyoto.

An alley.

I could understand this menu in italiano!

A lot of something.  On something else.

A bar awaiting its patrons.

Kiss nostalgia.

A place of religious worship... no shoes allowed.

Dusk in Kyoto.

Entrance to a traditional restaurant.

If you're looking for that Healin' Feelin', head up to the Good Time Cafe upstairs.  Open 24 hours.

After a day spent walking around Kyoto, a foot massage was in order.

I took the Kyoto metro back to the main station so I could catch a bullet train to Tokyo.  Same hanging ads as on the Tokyo metro, but in Kyoto doors between cars stayed open. 

Very few people in Japan speak a foreign language.  Maybe Berlitz will change that.

Exchanging to another Kyoto metro train.

Finally back on the shinkansen, there's nothing like junk food for a tired passenger.  Clockwise from the left: Oreo sticks (delicious), mystery food (not delicious, probably because it had pork in it, which I hate), iced green tea (awesome), inexpensive sake (decent), and onigiri - a triangle of rice wrapped in seaweed (very tasty).