Kyoto by Bike

This morning was like any other morning: wake up at 6:00 am, wish I had slept for at least one more hour, check to see who's online in the morning (Japan time), write a blog entry, and read up on the news. It was different having lots of people in the same room. I felt like I had to be extra quiet in order to not wake anybody.

Yale and I first set off for the Kiyomizudera Temple, a popular temple/shrine located on the east side of the city up on the mountainside. Today, it was especially crowded. The last time I visited, there weren't so many students around. It's currently on the list for the new 7 Wonders of the World. I'm not sure if I'd vote for it. I guess it does have lots of history behind it (as do most shrines/temples in Kyoto—close to 1,000 years). Within the temple grounds, there are a couple areas to make note of: 1) the love stone; and 2) the hidden forest. As seen in the picture, there is a love stone (actually two). You walk from one stone to the other while closing your eyes. If you successfully make it across, then your wish will come true; otherwise, it may be a long time till you find the one you love. I remember trying it as a missionary (we all did it). I don't recall anybody success across. Divine intervention? This time around, I passed. Too many school children. Besides, I like the way things are right now. The hidden forest was pretty cool too. Off to one side, there's this unpaved road that you can hike up. I hiked up about 1km while Yale waited for me at the bottom. It was nice to get away from the crowds and relax. Oh yeah, we ran into some girls in their kimonos, so we took a picture.

After Kiyomizudera, we decided to walk back to the station (I had no idea how to get to the next place w/o going back to Kyoto Station). That was a long walk. It was nice to walk and listen to my iPod, though; a bit of a change from the usual. Once we reached the station, Yale wanted me to see how much one-day bus passes cost (only 500 yen). However, the city buses weren't the best way to get around. There were a lot of connections to see the different sites. I wanted to rent bikes and cruise around the city. Yale was not so enthused. I could see it on his face—"Fernando, you gotta be kidding me. Riding bikes? 20 km? Are you crazy?" Anyway, I was able to persuade him to humor me in my request (maybe because it reminded me of my time as a missionary) and it was so much fun! I had a blast weaving in and out of traffic and people.

It kind of reminded me of being a missionary. I was the senpai (senior companion) and Yale was the kohai (junior companion). I took off on the bike while Yale was huffing and puffing, trying to keep up. However, we weren't in our missionary attire. Unless that means wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and Rainbow sandals while listening to my iPod (oh yeah, no helmet either). At first, I had problems with my seat. It didn't want to stay at the height I set it to. Also, it would shift left and right, so I avoided sitting on it for the first little while. Eventually, I was able to fix it. Otherwise, that might have made for a long day standing up.

The first adventure on our bikes was about 8 km away. We headed up to the Silver Pavillion (Ginkaku-Ji). It was not quite what I was expecting. I thought that the pavilion would be pretty and silver, but it was a little dumpy. The grounds pretty. I liked the sand art (Yale didn't care much for it) and the moss-like grass. After spending about 30 minutes at the pavilion, we headed west for the Imperial Grounds (about 4 km away). The grounds are huge (~8 million square feet), but there wasn't that much that we could see. The Imperial Palace is closed off from outsiders; there was another palace that was open, but you had to wait for a tour. The best part was riding our bikes on the gravel roads. It was fun to slide around. Afterwards, we took off for the highlight of the day: the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-Ji).

As the name describes, the building is decorated in gold leaf. It's one of a kind. Much prettier than the silver pavilion. By the time we were laving the Golden Pavilion, it was late in the afternoon and time to return the bikes that we had rented. Overall, I think we walked 2-2.5 miles and biked close to 25 km (don't feel like converting that, but probably close to 15 miles). A stop by a good (and inexpensive) curry shop followed by a soft serve cone finished off our day. I just chilled in the hostel watching Japanese TV and chatting with my roommates. Monday was a good day.