Kyoto- July 11, 2010

Today’s adventure takes place in the city of Kyoto. There are over 1600 Buddhists temples, we were able to see two today, and over 400 Shinto Shrines, we were able to visit one today.
Kiyomezudera Temple, the Pure Water Temple, was the first stop of the day. We left Kobe by train to Kyoto Station. At Kyoto Station we entered cabs with beautiful doilies covering the seats that dropped us off at the street that leads us to this temple. The cobblestone narrow street was lined with shops. This area is known for Kiyomizu-yaki pottery. Just as we began the climb the heavens opened and it started to pour. Susan, Sharen, Andrea, and myself jumped into a coffee shop to wait out the rain. Because of this and shopping our way up to the temple we lost the group. Once at the temple we ran into them coming out of the temple. Us renegades spent the day together running into the group at the Kodaiji Temple and the Yasaka Shrine.
We made our way through Kiyomezudera temple. Andrea and I went up the hill to see the Jishu Shire, which is dedicated to the deity of love and matchmaking. There are two stones 18 meters apart outside the shrine. It is said that if you can walk from one stone to the other with your eyes closed you will bring yourself much luck in finding love. We watched several men and women try it. Most were successful but the one was not. I am not sure what will happen to him. It was a very popular shrine so it was very crowded. We did not stay long.
The Otowa Waterfall is located at the base of Kiyomezudera’s main hall. This is how the temple got its name. The falls have been channeled into to three flowing streams and visitors can drink from two of the streams but not all three because that is looked upon as being greedy. I am the only one who tried this. One stream has the benefit of longevity, the other success at school, and the third fortune in love life. I will let you guess which two drinks I took. It again was very crowded and you had to use a long pole with a cup on the end to get the water. Not the magical of experience as I would have liked it to be but I did it and only time will tell if I really see the benefits.
After the temple we strolled and found a nice restaurant for lunch. We all had bowls of buckwheat noodles and vegetables with chicken or tempura shrimp. This bowl of soup hit the spot on an off and on rainy day.
We maneuvered through the raindrops some small some large to the Kodaiji Temple. This temple has very nicely laid out traditional Japanese gardens. They were all around the halls. I could not stop looking at the designs and layouts of them. This was a very nice tranquil place to get out of the rain for a while.
With sometime studying the map, we began walking to the Yasaka shrine. Andrea was key at figuring out the path to take. Thanks Andrea. At the shrine we meet up with most of the group. Exchanged the days events and came to the consensus that it was time to go back to Kobe. A group of about 10 ventured to the railway and made it back to Kobe all together. We needed to ask for directions/more clarification from several friendly and helpful people along the way. Many of us have noticed how friendly people are and how safe we feel here in Japan.
Coming Attractions- Pictures
Do to some technical difficulties I am unable to add pictures to my blogs. I am working on this.