Monday, October 15, 2007

Temples and Towers



After spending so much time getting here, it was time I got out & about. With it being a Monday, most of the attractions were closed (don't ask me why), but I still managed to find enough to keep me busy!

I started by visiting the Sanjusangen-do temple, 15 minutes walk from the station. The Temple is the largest wooden building in Japan. It has 1000 statues in it, some of which so expressive they could have been made by Hanna-Barbera. there also appeared to be some debate as to the images they were showing, as at least one was described as usually being shown as a half man/half animal combination, whereas here it was a warrior with a bird on a stick.

Next I went up the Tokyo tower (see picture from yesterday) to look out over the city. Good views coming from the good weather that we have been having today. Again I noticed my height, as I ended up having to kneel down in places in order to be able to take a picture through the window!

In the afternoon I took the train to Arashiyama - site of a famous bridge which used to be all wooden but now has concrete supports. Went for a walk along the river (almost rural) and then visited the Tenryu-ji Zen Temple. As usual had to take of shoes, but the largest slippers they had to use were a 7! The gardens were impressive (a world heritage site) and will be even better when autumn sets in a bit.

For dinner back to the shopping centre - less queues today (is Sunday eating out day) and actually managed some chopsticks!

No comments: