The weather app predicted showers today - on this occasion, their continued inaccuracy was a bonus (no rain-jackets required). Joshie was in a challenging mood, attempting to hurdle roped-off sections of nearby shrines, as well as casting frowns at any camera pointed at him. He found himself riding on my shoulders a little earlier than usual as a result.
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| Joshie - mid-stomp |
We made our way to Yasaka Pagoda (which is pretty much visible as we hit the main street near our place), where we politely approached a couple of tourist Geisha (ie not the real deal), and asked if we could take a picture. With big grins they readily agreed - and then asked if I could take some more photos of them with the kids on their cameras.
We continued along Sannenzaka Slope, which was lined with many traditional shops and restaurants. The local lore maintains that a slip on these steps will bring 3 years bad luck - we made it through unscathed, even with Josh in a stompy kind of mood. There was much hair-patting and cries of 'Kawai!' and 'Beautiful!' for all three of the kiddies - with Hamish's cheeks growing just a little rosy as a result.
As we neared Kiyomizu-dera, Lily located an oversized mascot (for what, we have no idea) and promptly sidled up for a photo opportunity by herself - Hamish's aversion to mascots continued, and Josh was content to glower from a distance.
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| Hey look! It's... that guy! |
Kiyomizu-dera is a Buddhist Temple - first built in 798, but had a major renovation (ie rebuilt) in 1633. The main Hall has a huge veranda that perches on hundreds of timber pillars (nail-free), overlooking the waterfall (Otowa-no-taki) below.
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| A similarly un-subtle doorbell. |
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| A not-so-subtle entry-gate. |
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| Straight from the Dragon's mouth. |
As you enter, you are confronted with the 'clearly genuine' giant steel war slippers and staves of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro - a famed Shogun. While I was able to manage to lift one of the staves, the steel girder next to it (presumably another staff) was a bit much.
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| The guy next to me was busy rupturing something. |
We paid our respects at the Temple proper, basking in the sunshine and incense smoke alike. As we did so, we became aware of a gentleman in a great deal of distress by having singed one of his fingers in a clumsy attempt at poking the smouldering stick into some ash. His teeny blister had officials running for first aid manuals.
Moving on before the Coast Guard arrived, we made our way down to Otowa-no-taki, and sipped from its waters, making a wish as we did so.
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| Otowa-no-taki |
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| Some of those timber pillars I was raving about earlier. |
As I was having a good old slurp of the crystal waters, I noted a group of ladies clustering about the Martin children. They had become a bit of a minor attraction it seemed. Joshie even came around - much to their delight.
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| Say 'chizu' |
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| 'Wait 'til the rest of the ladies at the kimono club see this!' |
On our way back from the Temple, we spotted a vendor selling more of those rice dumplings on a stick. His location was precarious, as there was a grumpy lady selling bloated geisha dolls next door (she had signs instructing all-comers not to touch or even take photos of anything), who resented his filthy queues impinging on her space. I have to say, the rice ball skewers were worth the angst.
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| Kiyomizu-dera |
For a teeny change of pace - tomorrow sees us off to Universal Studios in Osaka - home of Sesame Street characters amongst others. Josh will be in heaven. I will be wondering how I could trade places with the burnt finger guy.
