%cr%bKyoto%b%c* - Kinkakuji- The Golden Pavillion and other Japan Things to Do Tips

Even though the whole Kyoto is one big sight, for me Kinkakuji is one of the most breath-taking ones.

Who should we thank for it? Sogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

He abdicated the throne in 1394. Afterterwards he got a gentry house and converted it into a breath-taking residence, in which he decided to spend his last years. A special effort was made to make it a marvelous site. He indulged his peaceful life in this serene setting, and after his death, according to his wish, the house was made into a Zen Temple.

Whose ass should we kick? The insane monk`s.

Kinkakuji survived the Onin war but was set on fire and burnt by a mentally ill monk in 1950. The recent building is supposedly a copy of the old one, but the critics, not without a reason, say that the gold covering is more vast and bright than the orginal...

But oh well, who cares? It makes you wanna pee your pants anyways!!! ;-)

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Phone: 075/461-0013
Address: 1 Kinkakuji cho, Kita ku
Directions: Take a city bus and get off at Kinkakuji mae or Kinkakujimichi.

On the grounds surrounding Kinkakuji there is plenty to see. Indulge it.

The pond, called the Mirrow Pond because of the awesome reflection of the temple in the water, is wonderful with the bigger and smaller pine-covered islands, but walking a couple steps up you will see another one, more quiet, wild and less-photograpfed, but marvellous as well. There is a little pagoda on the island there that many people don`t notice- I believe it`s very charming. Take a walk in the gardens, indulge the little temples and tiny pavillions, the classic tea house and the hall dedicated to the God of Fire....

Don`t rush those places. Take a walk, let you mind record everything. Come early, so there aren`t tons of tourist getting into your pictures and bumping into you. But don`t just run with your camera, taking a couple of pics and checking this place off your list. Enjoy it. Take a mind picture. Sit down and stare. Say to yourself- "Hey, I`m in Japan". Not everyone is fortunate enough to visit this wonderful country. You shouldn`t rush it then...

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Ginkakuji is a younger sister of Kinkakuji, but that doesn`t mean it`s less charming. Even though at first site Kinkakuji might be more stunning, the surrounding of Ginkakuji is way more enchanting.

Ginkakuji, just like her sister, was built for an exclusive country residence in 1942 by shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasha. Following the example of his grandfather, who built Kinkakuji, he wanted to cover the whole roof with silver to make it look like the other one, unfortunately he run out of money and all he did were the windows.

Enen though, the building is stunning and it`s one of the most precious pearls of Kyoto. After his death the building was converted to a Zen temple and serves this perpous until today.

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Phone: 075/771- 5725
Address: 2 Ginkakuji Cho, Sakyo ku
Directions: Take the bus number 5 from Kyoto or Sanjo station or number 203 from Demachi yanagi or Shijo. Get off at Ginkakuji Michi and ask for further directions! Ginkakuji is about 5 minuts walking from there.

The garden is just incredibly perfect and....you just have to check it out by yourself.

Yoshimasa spent all his life building the Silver Pavillion. The garden that was gonna surround it was supposed to be as perfect and as beautiful as the pavillion. Here, the beauty of nature in each different season is skillfully adapted giving the atmosphere of a spiritual world. It was specially designed to "match" the owner`s autumn moon parties. With the little ponds full of carps, sand gardens, tiny bridges and beautifully shaped pine trees, this garden is the greatest I have ever seen.

They will have to carry you out, `cause you won`t wanna leave!!!

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Every nation has that one beloved thing which it cherishes above everything else. But no other nation cherishes it as much as the Japanese cherish Mt. Fuji!!!

Mt. Fuji is Japan`s most recognizable symbol and one of it`s most beautiful sights. Fujisan is with 3776 meters Japan's highest mountain. It is nearly perfectly shaped and has been worshipped as a sacred mountain for centuries. It`s a dormant volcano, which most recently erupted in 1708. It stands on the border between Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures and can be seen from Tokyo and Yokohama on clear days.

The Japanese totally love it. They love to watch it and even have special observation places where they go JUST to watch it. I swear- when we were close to Nagano, our Japanese friend took us up a mountain JUST because there was a pretty view of Fujisan there!!! Her mom couldn`t come with because of a broken leg, so my friend immediately took a picture with her cell and sent it to her mom, so she could enjoy Fujisan as well! If that ain`t love, I don`t know what is...Note, if you give a Japanese BOTH Mt.Fuji and Sakura (cherry bloosom) at the same time, that might be TOO MUCH pleasure, if you know what I mean..... ;)

The easiest and quickest way to view Mount Fuji is from the train on a trip along the Tokaido Line between Tokyo and Osaka. If you take the shinkansen from Tokyo in direction of Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka, the best view of Mount Fuji can be enjoyed from around Shin-Fuji Station on the right hand side of the train, about 40 to 45 minutes after leaving Tokyo. However, that clouds often block the view of Mount Fuji, and you have to consider yourself lucky if you get a clear view of the mountain. Visibility tends to be better during the colder seasons than in summer, and in the early morning and late evening hours.

If you want to enjoy Mount Fuji at a more leisurely pace and from a nice natural surrounding, you should head to the Fuji Five Lake (Fujigoko) region at the northern foot of the mountain, or to Hakone, a nearby hot spring resort.

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Climbing Mt. Fuji is an experiance of a lifetime. When I told the Japanese I was gonna climb it I would hear clapping, cheering but most of the time my favourite "heeeeeee" ( "heeeeeeee" is how the Japanese show that they are surprised and amazed, I totally love it, tried to mastered it but never quite made it :). I always thought if they like to watch it so much, they must like to climb it as well. I really thought it was like with the Muslims and Mekka....everyone has to do it once in a lifetime... but no!!! When shared these thoughts, I heard another "heeeee", the "how stupid are you" kind of "heeee" lol. Some of them climbed it, some of them were MAYBE gonna do it in the future and some of them didn`t want to do it at all!!!! So then I went like "heeeee", but after I had climbed Fujisan, I didn`t go "heeee" no more.... Climbing Mt.Fuji is not a small feat and is really exhausting!!! I was told that it`s like climbing stairs for 6 hours, but I really think it`s way harder. Steps are nice and even, but Mt. Fuji is the very opposite!!!

The official climbing season is July 1 to August 27. During the two months, the mountain is usually free of snow, the weather is relatively mild, access by public transportation is easy and the mountain huts are open.The peak season for climbing Mount Fuji is during the school vacations which last from around July 20 to the end of August. The peak of the peak is reached during the Obon Week in mid August, when climbers literally have to stand in queues at some passages. I climbed it in the night of August 26/27 and it was just right.

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In order to enjoy a safe hike to the summit of Mount Fuji, it is crucial to bring the proper equipment. Some of the most important things to bring are proper shoes, proper clothes protecting you against rain and cold (it can get below 0 at the summit and the wather is very moody and unstable), a flashlight or a headlight if you are gonna climb at night and food and drinks. Although mountain huts offer a variety of those, the prices rise with the altitude. I would also advise you take an oxygen bottle with you, as going up you can feel the air getting thiner and thiner. I had a couple of waves of headaches and it really helped me out.

What else can I say.....It was cold, hard, really exhausting, so tireing I can`t even start describing it. But it was great, awesome and really rewarding as well! The best thing was the atmosphere on the trail- people saying "gambatte" (try hard, good luck) to each other all the time, sharing food, supporting each other, talking and sharing stories as if they were friends for years even though they`ve just met. It was truly magical how international it was and from how many various places we all came to climb Fujisan. We all shared the same goal and had a great time together, even though we were very exhausted. So if I go and climb it the second time, it won`t be neither for the satisfaction nor for the sunrise, it will be for the great people and the atmosphere, which was what made it very special and magical for me.

An old Japanese saying goes: "One who never climbs Mount Fuji is a fool, and one who climbs twice is twice the fool.", but I`m sure, that if I come back- and I know I will- I`ll get my butt on top of Fujisan again for sure! :)

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Website: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6901.html

Most people climb Fujisan at night to witness the sunrise from the summit. Experiancing goraiko is a very big thing and a great experiance. Also, the chances of the mounatin being free of clouds, are highest during the early morning hours.

There are two ways of doing this. Some people climb it to a mountain hut around the 7th or 8th station on the first day, sleep there and go to the top early the next day to experiance the sunrise there at around 5 or 5.30 am. Another popular way is to start climbing the mountain around 10pm from the 5th station and hike through the night to reach the summit around sunrise. Obviously, this is a more tiring way of climbing the mountain.

We climbed from around 8pm and experianced goraiko at the 9th station from a place called Fuji Hotel (I don`t know how they could call that place a hotel, they must wash their sheets once a century lol), where we had a 3 hours rest, and it was great. It turnes out that it was a very good decision. Not only we got some sleep, but also the view was amazing. From a lady who I met on the way up and who chose to climb it without any rest I know, that not only they didn`t get much of a view on the top but they literally froze up there waiting 2 hours for it. But no matter which way you choose, the sunrise at Mt. Fuji experianced with a lot of people, both foreign and Japanese is something wonderful and unforettable....

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Matsuo Basho, the most famous Japanese haiku writer, was always really accurate in putting things into words and, after seeing Matsushima, he wrote the following:

"Matsushima, oh Matsushima
Matsushima, Matsushima!".

The great poet must have been speechless and so was I.

Matsushima means "pine island" in Japanese and is known as one of the 3 most beautiful places of Japan. The view of 200 pine-covered islands, from very tiny to quite big, is amazing and breath-taking. I simply loved it!!!

But I must say we had luck too. It rained really hard that day in the morning, so the army of one-day-tourists who usually overtake this place from early in the morning till evening didn`t even come. The place wasn`t crowded at all which made our trip really enjoyable- we could easily take pictures without tons of strangers in them and didn`t have to wait for the boat ride at all. But from what I heard, usually this place is flooded by a never-ending river of tourist. So avoid weekends and other holidays, because crowds can spoil your experiance.

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Address: Miyagi Prefecture, Northern Honsiu
Directions: Take a Shinkansen from Tokyo to Sendai, from there a JR line straight to Matsushima.

On a tiny island connected with the coast by 2 short bridges there is a little Godaido temple. This very orginal in its shape temple was built in IX century. It is opened only 3 times a century, so good luck fitting it in your sheduele!!! ;) However, you can still see the beautiful outside with very orginal Chinese zodiac sculptures. The bridges leading to the temple are very fun too- there are built so you can see the water deep underneath your feet- a bit freaky and watch your step! Surrouned by pine trees Godaido looks really great on the water and is one of Matsushimas must-sees.

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