First Full Day in Kyoto, Part 3!

Seals placed on the interior roof of a wooden gateway.


This is a bad photograph of the map of the Chion-in Temple Grounds. The big building int he center is where we left off...


This is the large temple where the ceremony was being performed. We were a little sad about the entrance being altered like this but we see the value in doing so both for the visitors and the structural longevity of the temple.

From the porch area... Getting ready to go inside.

The back of the main building and some other pathways to other shrines and temples.

This smaller room was not accessible at the time because of restoration, however, the scent of the room coming out the window was cool and smelled like cedar.

Three incense burners at the front of a pond and walkway to yet another shrine that was surrounded by flower offerings.


Going up and into the mountain...

Stopping for a moment. Enjoying the view and architecture and trees. It was very quiet up there.


More stairs? More shrines? No problem! In this building that was set in the mountain (same temple grounds) there was a man hammering onto an instrument made from a gourd. There were several on the floor waiting for use. He hammered very methodically and meditatively.


Walking further up and north, a dream come true! This is a yard full of family shrines for the dead.

The shrines were terraced into a mountain, which we started to hike up...

and the higher in elevation we got, the more dense the vegetation and the older the shrines and stones became.

The trail seemed to never end. But eventually we turned around to head back down the mountain because we had an opening dinner reception to go to that would kickstart the conference.

Walking back through town. This is a statue commemorating the woman named Izumo no Okuni who is credited for the birth of Kabuki in 1603. She performed along the banks of the river in Kyoto. It wasn't until the Edo period that women were banned from performing Kabuki.

Some of the alleys had a lot of power lines. Love the signs, too.

Cute couple in traditional wear.

Including the dinner party that evening, this concludes the first day!