Japan, Day 2. Golden Pavilion, Kiyomizudera Pure Water Temple, Philosopher's Stone Garden
After two bottles of sake tonight, not only has my memory not been clouded, but it has even sharpened and expanded. So, the second day in Japan (see previous review), still Kyoto, but much more impressions!
I can already conclude that the food in Japanese hotels, even C grades, is very high quality. Better than Europe and much better than the States. I remember how in the States in one of the hotels for breakfast there were only muesli, croissants and coffee-tea ...Today for lunch in the "take as much as you want" mode, among other things, there were octopuses, very tasty raw fish (almost sushi, only without rice ), excellent miso soup. For dessert - panna cotta, a chocolate fountain with 3 types of croutons, green tea cookies and much, much more. Perhaps tomorrow I will start photographing dishes so as not to be unfounded.
Yesterday's sights seemed pale. Today's ones were hardly more expressive, but I felt them better.
What strikes in Japanese temples is not the scale of Gothic cathedrals or the luxury of Orthodox churches. And what is striking is that, in principle, it cannot surprise much - this is harmony with the outside world. At the "Golden Pavilion" Kinkakuji, the top two floors are covered with gilding (see photo). But the second plan is much more noticeable. The temple is so well inscribed in the surrounding landscape that one gets the impression that this is not a person, but nature placed this building here. Like a stone, or a stream, or a tree, it does not look like a human creation, but complements and improves the surrounding landscape. It's hard to imagine.
The Japanese treat gardens differently than we do. For example, they have dry gardens with only moss, rocks, and dead trees. And they don't look dead and haggard. Think about it, can a Westerner create such a thing? Hardly, but admire, fortunately, can. The last point of the program was the philosophical rock garden near the Ryoanji Temple (see photo).
At the entrance to the temple, we take off our shoes, sit down and ...enlightenment comes. Anyone who has practiced meditation knows what it is. And he also knows how hard it is to achieve the desired state. In Ryoanji, it comes almost immediately, imperceptibly, as the dawn comes. At first, it even seems that nothing has changed. The same Japanese schoolchildren scurry about, someone asks to take a picture, someone sits down and stands next to him, sits down again and gets up again, but this is not at all important.
There are 15 stones in the Ryoanji Philosophical Garden. It is built in such a way that only 14 of them are visible from any point. This is not a difficult design task, but of course I did not believe it. To the guide's surprise, the "G-spot" was found. I don't think Master Soami made a mistake in the construction. Rather, the conditions of the task are somewhat more complicated than the guide told us, but let it remain on her conscience.
And I advise future visitors not to listen to the guide and everyone else, but to quickly proceed to this rectangle of light gravel and sit down on the steps. The garden will do the rest for you.
Urine tea is a warm, salty tea with a "broth effect". This is surprising, but a drink that contains only tea and salt tastes much better than the right rich broth with herbs. Bought home to see if this was a continuation of Ryoanji's obsession.
Kyoto has some interesting attraction marketing. In each of them, at the output, you can take a print and put it in a special catalog. Until you fill all the cells, we only dream of peace. Colleagues put it on the travel list at the same time - anyway, no one in Ukraine will convict.
In Japan, as in Ukraine, there is a network of slot machines called Pachinko. And the same hangers, as we had, who lower all salaries there.
Only the system of exchanging winnings for money is slightly confused, apparently due to problems with the law.
It was interesting for me that electricity is supplied to the streets with a voltage of 6600 volts, and is converted by transformers (see photo) immediately before entering the house. Such barrels as in the photo hang on every second pole.
Hotels in Japan are expensive, but for locals they are even more expensive. This is how demand wins over other factors in pricing. A good example for parsing at lectures on economic theory.
The large, but completely poppy temple of Kiyomizodere (see photo) did not impress with either the size, or the three sources of clean water, or the combination with nature. Almost at the exit we noticed groups of small stone idols in aprons (see photo). These deities look like caring housewives and guard children and travelers. Many of them are followed by widows or mothers who have lost their children.
An obligatory item of the evening program in Kyoto is Gion Corner - a geisha dance show. Unfortunately, we were not lucky. So check the schedule of this show when visiting Kyoto http://www. kyoto. travel/2009/11/gion-corner.html.
For many of our group, it was a discovery that geisha are not prostitutes and they do not sleep with clients. This is a cheaper service that geishas do not condescend to. The geisha in Kyoto have not become a tourist attraction, they serve only the rich, accomplished Japanese, remaining an unattainable mystery to another world. Some hotel resorts have pseudo-geisha - they are more expensive than prostitutes, but they can be persuaded. In general, there is no prostitution in Japan, but, like in Ukraine, everyone knows where to get it and how much it costs. And local residents often receive advertising booklets with detailed price lists by mail.
The Japanese say that in the life of every man there are 3 women - a prostitute for the body, a wife for the home and a geisha for the soul.
But for some reason, going to the first is a moral offense, and to the third is a completely normal thing.
The guide drinks with our company, so we ended the evening in a restaurant for locals. Once again, I was convinced that I would prefer Jagermeister even to warm sake. I also found out about "all-inclusive bars" in Tokyo. They charge a flat entry fee and give you 2 hours to get drunk on whatever liquor is available at the bar. Are Russians allowed in there? ?
