Day 31: November 17, Monday: Joe to Kyoto

Kate and I decided that, since Kyoto was so full of sights and we didn't cover half of what we wanted to see, we'd each take a solo trip there to have some kid-free time to look around.

Today was my solo day. I got up early and read some work on the train ride in, then first stop was to pick up the backpack we had left behind at our hotel there. I ran into my bike friend again, who by now had posted an entry on his store's blog about meeting us:

http://passione-kyoto.blog.eonet.jp/101/2008/11/my-friend-d9a0.html

You can catch a few things in there in his English. Even better is to plug the page into a translation website like babelfish.yahoo.com and read the magic that computerized-translation produces, including such gems as:

"Is written on the log of 8 days the American who, It approached to the store while walking with the child."

Sounds prophetic! I'd like to believe that, actually, that's how he speaks in his native tongue.

I then walked over to Sanjusangen-do Temple, home of the 1000-armed statue of Kannon (a Buddhist deity), surrounded by 1,000 nearly-identical smaller statues of Kannon. Seeing all these in a row, with the large 1,000 armed Kannon in the center, was pretty incredible--dizzying, even. What's even more amazing is that they are all wood carvings (Japanese cypress), and done in the 12th & 13th centuries.

The 1,000-armed Kannon, center stage.

There are two additional statues of gods (Thunder God and Wind God) placed at the start and end of the room. These were some of my favorites, especially the Wind God:

You would think it impossible to show power and intense facial expressions just by carving wood. This same amazing talent was on display on for the 28 statues of guardian deities set in front of the Kannons:
When I got to the center, 1,000-armed statue, something didn't seem right. Certainly didn't seem like the statue had 1,000 arms. In reading some of the posted signs after exiting the main hall, I found out that the statue itself only has 40 arms, but each arm is said to save 25 worlds, hence 25 x 40 = 1,000 arms. I'm not saying I felt cheated, but c'mon--by that logic I really have 10,000 legs if I claim each of my legs saves 5,000 worlds.

Really though, it was an incredible sight. Probably one of the best things we've seen so far.

Housing these statues is the longest wooden structure in the world, at over 120 meters:


From there I headed to walk the "Philosopher's walk," so named because a Kyoto University Philosophy professor used to take his "daily constitutional" along this route.

It follows a meandering canal and is very lovely, with small shops and tea houses dotting the way. It's supposed to be quite a sight during the Cherry Blossom season.


It also afforded some nice views of the surrounding area:

Along the way, it struck me that I should try to work a "daily constitutional" into my workday back in East Lansing, and I thought about what route I could take for it. Hmm. We do have the Red Cedar River, which would mimic the feeling of walking along this canal. But then it struck me--what inspires the introspection and existential contemplation that one craves in a good constitutional more: walking along a canal (c'mon people, it's just water--it hasn't been interesting since Kohler tamed it enough to send to our kitchen faucets) or walking around SUB-ATOMIC PARTICLES SMASHING AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT:

MSU's National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory.

My new walk route.

At the end of the walk, I stopped at a small cafe boasting a "coffee and cake" special. Looked promising:
And success! Very good coffee, served with the smallest cream pitcher in the world.

The cake was a cheesecake, but in keeping with the Japanese trend of being unable to master Western desserts, it was completely tasteless--it wasn't bad, but each bite tasted like air.

I walked around Pontocho Alley for a bit, which is a hotspot for nightlife but was pleasant enough during the day (and the packed bars and restaurants gave you a sense of what it would be like at night):
And a few eats at the food market again, then back to Osaka.