under another sun

Up early again, drinking tea and packing in our tiny roomed Ibis Styles hotel. It had served us well, however. Leaving our bags in reception, we ended up in the same place for breakfast having coffee, a panini style thing and a little scoop of tasty ice-cream. Then we made our way on foot, a 25 minute walk from the hotel to the Sanjūsangen-dō temple. I had been here before but my second visit with Lorraine the place absolutely blew me away. You enter a massive oblong hall with 1000 life sized golden statues of The Thousand Armed Kannon, it is like an army of Buddhas and quite overwhelming. As well as these there is an enormous thousand armed Kannon as a centrepiece. Additionally there are 28 statues of guardian deities. You are not allowed to take any photographs there,  however some exist on the internet. This done, we crossed the bridge over the river and arrived back at our Hotel and picked up our cases. The shinkansen part of the station could not have been nearer, we simply ...

Of snow and eel intestines My cold somewhat abated, I got up just before dawn and opened the curtains, then climbed back into bed to watch the falling snow. Kyoto is bordered on three sides with mountains and gets very wintery. Met Toby Romy and Hiroko and we set off in the cold to a nearby Starbucks which overlooked the snowy river, and was a wonderful place to enjoy hot cofee. Toby busy saying it was the world`s best Starbucks and he is probably right. Thus fortified we went back to the hotel to pack. Popped out then to a particularly lovely shop to look again at its prints and brushes and expensive pottery. Then after settling-up at the hotel, we taxied to our final temple. Sanjusangen-do was unheated and freezing. Inside was a structure like a long wooden football terrace, with 1000 life size sculptures of the Buddhist deity called Kannon. They flank one enormous seated deity. Spaced between them are a 28 other deities representing thunder, wind and other forces of nature. The scul...