Crickets, Dragons and Foxes

Sunday September 29, 2013

Kyoto, Japan

Perfect Summer Weather

When visiting Kyoto, less is more in my opinion. There is just too much to see and can be overwhelming. For this trip the main purpose was the moss temple which I already blogged about. I was going to only do the Moss Temple, Bamboo Path and Tenryu-ji Temple (Dragon Temple) which is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. But convinced by a taxi driver and the monk at Moss Temple, I added 2 more sites to visit.

While at the Moss Temple, the nice monk also encouraged me to visit the Cricket Temple (Suzumushi Temple). It is known for the crickets that the monks take care of that sing all year long. It is the only place in Japan, where you can here the crickets sing all year long. It is also known for making wishes come true. At the entrance of the temple is Kofuku-Jizo (Happiness Jizo) and is the only Jizo statue wearing zoris in Japan. Tradition says that he comes to you by foot to make your wish come true.

Upon entering the temple, you are treated to a 30 minute lecture from a very funny and happy monk about the history of the place and how the monks used Zen practice to keep the crickets singing all year long. He also gave instructions on what to do before praying in front of the Kofuku-Kizo to make your wish come true. You are served delicious tea and a home made sweet while listening to the entertaining monk. I did not make a wish as the lines were so looooong. But I'm glad I went when I did as there were over 100 people waiting in line to enter the temple for the next session!

After the cricket temple (which is about a 3 min walk from the Moss Temple) , I took a taxi to the JR Kyoto station to by some computer stuff (long story). The cab driver had an Elvis Presley hairdo with lots of giant silver rings and was hilarious! Anyhow, he highly recommended a visit to Fushimi Inari Shrine so I put that on the list of things to do for Sunday

But first for Sunday was a trip to Arashimaya to experience the Bamboo Path which did not disappoint. It was very easy to get to via train and find. The whole area of Arashimaya is so beautiful. Unfortunately, the famous bridge and many hiking trails were closed due to the typhoon damage but that did not stop me from walking around the area for about 3 hours.

First stop was the Temple of the Heavenly Dragon which is the head temple of the Tenryu-ji branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism. It was built in the 1300s and is a classic Zen Buddhist temple surrounded by the bamboo forest. The garden is one of the oldest in Japan and was designed by the famous gardener Muso Soseki. Whatever happened to the Zen gardening skills?? Gorgeous landscaping and would have been tranquil if not for the loud tourists groups.

After wondering the grounds for about 40 minutes, walked thru the bamboo path again and this time through the small "town" of Saga which is GORGEOUS! Found a famous Saga Ningyo store (Sago No Ningyo no Mise) and bought myself a souvenir and also found that most famous Tanuki store (Koto-en) in Kyoto and got myself a Tanuki! I got myself an original handmade Shigaraki Tanuki to bring me prosperity! Tanuki is a Japanese badger and in Kyoto, one can find them at the entrance of a shop so as to bring $$$s to the store.

I then took the old train back to Saga station and made my way to the hotel for a quick rest. Next stop was my favorite noodle restaurant in Kyoto – OMEN followed by the last stop of the day which is Fushimi Inari Shrine recommended by the Elvis look- a -like taxi driver.

Fushimi Inari Shrine did not disappoint. It is the head "inari" shrine in Japan. There are over 30000 inari shrines in Japan. Inari is the "god of rice" so today is known also to be the patron of business. It is guarded by many Japanese Foxes which are also known as messengers of gods in Shinto-ism. Unfortunately, the red fox is endangered now in Japan as Japan is way behind the rest of the world on conservationism (that's another story).

The shrine was packed with tourists but did not disappoint. The highlight of the visit is to talk through the 1000s of Tori (gates) donated by businesses to bring them $$$s. I didn't go through all the gates as have been suffering from a heel spur and they were just too many people. Given its open 24 hrs, next time in Tokyo, I'm going to do the walk around 5pm and walk thru the gates during twilight and the paths lit with the old lanterns. I heard it is much more tranquil then. It was so crowded that I didn't even stop for an inari sushi (pillowcases in English) or Kitsune (fox) udon which are specialties in the area. Inari sushi is basically, a fried tofu pillowcase filled with sushi rice. Kitsune Udon is Japanes Udon with fried tofu as a topping. I was told by a shopkeeper that inari sushi got its named because Inari ( the god of rice) love tofu. Kitsune(fox) udon got its name because Inari sushi used fried tofu so the inventor from Osaka topped udon with fried tofu and called it Kitsune Udon as the Kitsune protects Inari. Go figure.

After a long day, took the train back to the hotel, went to the "sento" (public bath – which is another blog topic in itself), got a relaxing foot massage and decided to finish Breaking Bad Season 2 (yes I'm behind).

Haven't planned my next trip to Tokyo, but the next one is going to be Fushima Inari at twilight and discovering Kyoto cuisine.

The Jizo Statue of the Cricket Temple