Golden Week, Day 3 - Kyoto

Our third day in Kyoto it rained. I guess I should really be happy about that. I got to have the ultimate dress-up experience and didn't waste any good weather! Ian played babysitter while I had a Maiko geisha makeover. What a prince!

A Maiko is an apprentice geisha. A Maiko is what most Westerners picture when they think of a geisha. Having the make-up applied took maybe 20 minutes. It went fairly quickly. Then I got to pick a kimono to wear. I choose one that I thought seemed very traditional. The design was heavily embroidered. I had to wait a while to have the assistant dress me. There were a lot of ladies there and several small girls there. Addison really didn't know what to think when she saw me. It was obvious that she didn't recognize me, even when I spoke to her. If there's a benefit to being so absolutely behind in blogging, it's that my professional pictures arrived and I'm able to include them for you!

"Before"

Addy plays photo-
grapher while she and Poppa wait.

Notice the unpainted portion of the back of my neck.



The next set of pictures is from a beautiful temple we saw in the Gion area. It was closed to the public, but so unusual we feel in love with it.

The Ryozen Kannon was our next stop and definitely my favorite place in Kyoto. This temple gave me a foreshadowing of the emotions I would experience in Hiroshima. The Ryozen Kannon was built to commemorate the Japanese that lost their lives in World War II. But, the grounds held many memorials to all nationalities that lost their lives in the war. Ryozen Kannon stands (sits?) 80 feet tall. We were able to go into the base of the Kannon, where there were other small statues of Buddha.





The cobblestone streets are symbolic of the Gion area. We saw quite a few women wearing kimono. And of course, there were shops of every kind. Here's one that sold nothing but fans.









Next stop, Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Ian's favorite from Kyoto. Kiyomizu-dera means pure water temple. This temple was founded in 780 and built into the wooden hillside. Kiyomizu is a nominee for the New 7 Wonders of the world. Haven't heard of it, eh? We hadn't either, but there's still time to vote for your favorite new wonder. To drink from Kiyomizu's sacred water is said to possess healing powers. Honestly, the line was too long for these foreigners, so we bypassed a taste even though we were thirsty. In one part of the temple is a hall dedicated to love and fertility. It's said if a person can walk between the two "love stones" with their eyes closed, they will find their love. However, if they fail, it will be a long time before their love is realized. Luckily, a person can have someone guide them between the two stones, which means they will need help achieving their love. Interesting. And maybe bemusing. We didn't see any Japanese attempting this. Just foreigners, mostly guided ones.


Having a rest.


These are school children at the sacred spring.




These tablets are purchased for around 500 yen. You write your prayer on it and leave it at the temple.

One of the love stones.

We finished our day with a stroll through more of Gion. We could have spent our entire three days in Gion. There is just so much to see there. We walked past the Ichiriki tea house, the tea house that figures so prominently in Memoirs of a Geisha. We even saw one or two geisha heading to their engagements. No good pictures though. Due to the time of the day, most of them look like we're trying to prove the existence of Big Foot. But, we know.