Kyoto with the Super

On Sunday, I was able to guide Pullman’s Superintendent, Paul Sturm, Dr. Len Foster and Dr. Cory m Bromley, two professors from WSU on an excursion to Kyoto. All week I had watched them ‘perform’ at various seminars. They were kept on a very tight schedule by the International Education Department here in Nishinomiya. It seemed as they barely had time to sleep. The only times I could really see them throughout the week was during the sessions in the afternoon. Shortly after each session they would be swept away to another function. I think they were looking forward to a little time away from the center of attention, somewhere they could see some different parts of Japan. I was more than happy to spend some time with them. I have served on committees with Paul, long before he became the Superintendent, it was very nice to visit with him and it was nice to get to know the others as well.

Fall in Kyoto is very different from the summer time. There is not nearly as much sweat, but there are many more people. It almost felt like we were in the train station there were so many people at times. People were climbing the steps to the temples, shopping and watching other people.

We skipped shopping on the shopping street right at the station. We went directly to the park. The moment we entered the gate, we ran right into vendors. Food and gifts lined the park sidewalk. Near the center of the main park, a small event was taking place. In one of the main shrines there was a Shinto ceremony in progress. Several people had gathered in the open air of the temple, and we could see the Shinto priest speaking in the center. Some large Taigo drums were close to the center pavilion as well.

From the park we made our way south, skirting the mountain and climbing as we went. Just outside of the park on the south side, the streets quickly narrow to the width of a single car. Small gates and shops line the walled street. Some gates guide you off toward restaurants, shops or private houses. None of the streets in this area are straight. It helps to have a good map or to have been where you want to go before. A couple of the streets end with stairs leading to the next road. There are shops and restaurants along the stairs as well.

Eventually we made it to the temple. This temple is one of the highest recommended places to visit in Kyoto. It is built high on the side of the mountain with great views of Kyoto to the west and on a clear day Osaka to the south. It is nestled into the side of a ravine. Across the ravine there is a three-storied pagoda. The ravine itself is filled with trees. This should have been the time to visit for the fall foliage, but the weather still has not turned and most of the trees are still very green.

We didn’t walk all of the way to the pagoda, but we got around to the backside of the ravine and were able to look back at the temple with its large veranda. Beneath the decking is a bulwark of posts and beams keeping the structure in place. I am gaining a greater appreciation for the Japanese construction methods. As we left the temple we walked beneath it’s decking. I almost like this view better. The beams are very large. The castle in Himeji has the same type of superstructure and the house I am watching them build also some similarities.

We wound our way from the temple by a cemetery and through the edge of Kyoto before we stopped back at the Buddha. Most of the attractions in Kyoto close at 4:30 in the afternoon, but the gate keeper let us step inside the gate and take a couple of pictures. I like the two devils that guard the gates to the Buddha. Some day, we will finish the tour of this temple.

When we left the park and temple complex, we walked by a ‘love hotel,’ but I think that they may have been disappointed. I think they were looking for something tawdry, but it really is a nice looking hotel. The only way it looks like it serves as a love hotel are the hourly rates posted on the sign in front. We had a quick dinner and caught the train for Umeda. The entire trip, from the time I arrived at the hotel in the morning until the time I arrived home was just over 12 hours. The list of things we accomplished during the day was not extensive, but this was the first day that they didn’t have to go and do anything specific. I hope that my guests had as good of a day as I did.