Our first temple visit here was the Eastern Temple of the Original Vow, also known as Higashi Hoganji Temple. It is one of the 2 dominant sect in Japan, the other being Nishi Hoganji, which is located just next to the Higashi Hoganji. Unfortunately for us, both of the temples were under restoration work while we were there so there wasn't that much to see or do. We spent about half an hour in Higashi Hoganji just wandering around as it had a really huge compound.
Outside Hoganji Higashi The Nishi Hoganji (aka Western Temple of the Original Vow) although was located just next to the Hoganji Higashi on the map, took us about 20minute to get to on foot. Unlike the Hoganji Higashi, this temple was made of the of UNESCO World Heritage Site. Why the other temple is not, I am not sure. The both share the same history (established by Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa when he split the sect into 2 in 1602), but only Nishi is recognized by UNESCO.
At compounds of Nishi Honganji At Nishi, we were approached by an elderly gentleman whom I assume, just wanted some company to talk to. It turned out to be a fairly interesting conversation, and he was in fact, quite amusing. He says that he's there almost everyday as he lives close by, so I guess going to the temple to him is like walking to the park to us. So, anyone who visits there, look out for a nelderly gentleman with a walking stick.
The most pleasant surprise in the day was the hotel room. We stayed in Hearton Hotel, about 5 minutes walk from the Karasuma-oike subway station. For the price we paid for a hotel in Kyoto, I'll have to admit that our hotel was a pretty decent deal. The room was big by Japanese standard to fit 2 king single beds and nicely decorated. What amazed me most was the toilet. For once, the toilet was actually on the same level as the bedroom itself (Most toilets had a slightly elevated level compared to the room) *if you understand what I mean*
Our room in Hearton Hotel We only had time to put our stuffs down before heading out for dinner as we had to meet someone for dinner. Since we haven't seen the city itself yet, we decided to take a walk to there while scouting out for places to have dinner. For once, we walked without a map and didn't have to worry about getting lost, as we had someone who could actually speak proper Japanese!! That was just.... a happy moment. LOL.
Streets of KyotoAnyway, we walked towards Teramachi Shopping Arcade & Nishiki Food Market but most of the shops were closed. Nevertheless, we took a few pictures along the way, and was quite surprised by the amount of shrines in the area. They were all really lighted up with red lanterns which made it really pretty :).
At the shopping arcade
Doesn't the lanterns just make the place look absolutely gorgeous!?
Couldn't resist a picture outside one of them After walking for a long long time ( and a stop at Mister Donut to get tomorrow's breakfast :P), we finally found a place for dinner. At a Japanese-styled pub - an izakaya, where they served fairly decent-sized food compared to a normal pub. The place that we went to was fairly well-kept, not too crowded and relatively quiet for a pub, which were all plus points for me. The variety of food available truly surprised me as I never expected a pub to serve that many kinds of food. Plus, they were all the foods that I liked.
I just love these on the cold cold nights!!!
Chicken piecesAfter the long walk before dinner and the very fulfilling dinner, we started on our journey back to the hotel. But not before we walked pass another shrine, another pachinko, (Japanese gaming centres) and an absolutely one-of-a-kind dessert shop (Ok, maybe here and not in Japan). It sells the ice-cream laid with fruits and creams, the truly dessert kind of dessert. But one-of-a-kind because the servings were huge! Like the kind that you need to bring along 9 other friends to finish it. They were THAT big.
Check out the sizes!! (and the price :P)
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