07.31.2009 Kyoto: Sanzen-in, Kyomizu-dera, etc

Today my roomie woke up for the first morning call and then went back to sleep. I didn't hear the second one, but I picked up the third. But by then we had half an hour to get ready, eat, and get on the bus. It's almost like school. Anyways, we went to Sanzen-in in the morning. It's an old imperial temple and a world heritage site (I think)

1. Interesting incense being burned 2. Gold-leaf tea. Wasn't very tasty 3. Many many miniature Avalokitesvara's and donor names.

Then we went to see the Garden of Fine Art, Kyoto by Tadao Ando. Omygosh it is amazing. The structure is beautiful. It is built with his iconic cement, and everything is angular. (Just imagine the floorplan!) The Garden of Fine Art is like an open outdoors museum. Works of art are viewed in the outdoors. The paintings are all painted on ceramic so that they can last longer in the weather. I remember (when going through the place) how intrigued I was by the architecture as much as I was by the works of art and the pleasant surprise in knowing it was Tadao Ando's work.

Kiyomizu-dera temple was our next stop. It has a few interesting things to note. One, it is built on the side of a mountain, and they have this balcony that is supported by 49? wooden pillars. No nuts or bolts, just wood. When you look at them at a distance, it is supposed to cure you of all your sicknesses.

Two, is the gate of fate. Here, there are two rocks and it is said that if you are able to walk with your eyes closed from one stone to the other then your wish will come true. If not, then it will be a long time before your love is realized. The stone is called the "Love Fortune Telling Stone"

1. Okuninushino-mikoto, a japanese god in charge of love and good matches, 2. Troubles are supposed to be written on these paper dolls and when the paper is dissolved in the water, it represents your troubles dissolving as well. 3. Love stone

We stopped at the newly built Kyoto Station to check Shinkansen tickets and allow everyone to go shopping. The building was pretty interesting. It's new so there are some parts that remind me of Tokyo. There was an Astroboy studio store and we took a lot of photos, but I am tired and I've been holding this post for a while now!