We were exploring Enoshima Island with some friends when we smelled some incense and heard some chanting. We decended down the stairs to the round Saikufuji Temple, or Enoshima Daishi, overlooking the Sagami-wan (bay), turned a corner, and found this Aji-kan Meditation mid-session. The fire burns at the feet of Fudo, a six-meter tall statue…
Aji Meditation, or Praying to the Scary
Kyoto’s Sacred Rain
Touring in misty rain can’t be beat. The streets aren’t as crowded, colorful umbrellas pop up everywhere, and a cloud layer gives the day a timeless, ageless quality—the adventure could last forever. We were blessed with sunny weather most of our time in Kyoto, but the last day was dark and exciting, perfect for pagodas…
Aoi Matsuri, or Why We Didn’t See Kyoto’s Imperial Palace
May turns out to be a great time to go to Kyoto. The Aoi Matsuri, or Hollyhock Leaf festival, is one of Kyoto’s big three annual festivals and includes horse riding events and a parade that traditionally took rice and other thank-you gifts to the regional ruler to thank him for letting them do the…
Cute Kyoto Photo of the Day
This is one of those baby buggies I told you about, Mum! But this was just two babies, not the dozen babies stuffed into the more industrial day care buggies near my house. This mom in Kyoto saw me taking a picture and smiled and turned the buggy to face me, then bowed and thanked…
Stone Garden of Taizoin Temple
Myoshinji Temple complex includes this Taizoin Temple rock garden and meditation room as well as Shunkoin Temple, where we stayed. I got a separate brocade, accordion-fold calligraphy book for Kyoto because my Tokyo book is almost full already. I filled a page with calligraphy from the rock garden and another from Myoshinji’s main temple. The…
Kyoto by Night
“We lead our lives like water flowing down a hill, going more or less in one direction until we splash into something that forces us to find a new course.”Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a GeishaStreams trickle and babble throughout Kyoto, lending a watery backdrop to the “floating world” of the old geisha district called Gion….
How to Stay in a Kyoto Temple
You wake up jet lagged in Shunko-in Temple in Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital city. The bed-on-floor situation and outdoor hole-in-the-floor potties remind you you’re on a different continent. You hear someone sneeze…in the room next door. Good morning! You’re in Japan! You can’t go back to sleep after 5 a.m. so you’re more than on…