After visiting Arashiyama and Fushimi Inari Taisha earlier in the day my next stop in Kyoto was Northern Higashiyama (東山区) for an afternoon stroll through some of the idyllic gardens and temples there. Without wanting to repeat myself too much I’ll leave you to marvel at some of the well-preserved heritage and natural beauty on show here…
As you might have already guessed from my previous posts Kyoto has a huge number of temples and shrines. In fact there are over 2000, both large and small, which makes choosing which to visit a bit tricky – it’s well worth picking up the Kyoto (Lonely Planet City Guide) to work out where you want to go. If temples aren’t your thing then you might want to skip todays post or Kyoto altogether…
On my second day in Kyoto thick clouds hung in the air as I made my way to the north-west outskirts of the city to explore the districts of Arashiyama (嵐山) and Sagano. After a fifteen minute journey on the Sagano Line from Nijō Station (near the hostel I was staying at) I arrived and made my way through the quiet streets to my first destination…
I spent the second half of my recent trip to Japan in Kyoto (京都); formerly the imperial capital of the country which carries the reputation as its most beautiful city. Having taken an early morning Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo I arrived a little over two hours later at what must be one of the most magnificent stations I’ve ever seen…
At the end of my week in Tokyo I had the great pleasure to meet up with my friend and former Japanese teacher at Sensō-ji Temple in Asakusa who had moved back to Japan since I graduated over five years ago. It’s hard to believe that it had been so long and we had a lot of catching up to do…
Over the past few years I’ve visited many temples in the region and while each has its own charm, like with Churches in the UK, there is a certain point at which they all begin to look-alike. Most traditional buildings in Asia exhibit the same basic design elements – thick wooden columns serve as the load-bearing element of the structure which sit atop a large stone base, anchoring the building. The walls, floors, and complex bracketed roof structure are then built around these columns.
Yes this is another post featuring a big Buddha but this time it’s in a city you’ve probably never heard of. Ningbo is a seaport city of around 2 million people facing the East China sea, not far from Shanghai. The city is primarily oriented around trade and while it isn’t particularly famous it did have one interesting brush with history when during World War II the Japan bombed the city with fleas carrying the bubonic plague. From this (and many other atrocities) you can get an idea why China still has such a deep hatred for their easterly neighbors. I visited for a little over a day at the end of my previous trip around Jiangnan province and was pleasantly surprised to find clean and modern city, quite different from…
On the second enjoyably hot and sunny morning in Xiamen I visited Nanputuo Temple (“nan” meaning south) situated at the foot of Wulaofeng (Mountain of Five Old Men) facing the sea. It’s one of the most famous Buddhist temples in China, founded in the Tang Dynasty, with over 1000 years history containing three main halls and one pavilion (some being more recent additions). Outside the temple is an equally beautiful lotus pond which at this time year was covered in water lilies and teeming with various fish and more than a few turtles. The temple and its grounds were also unfortunately swarming with people who evidently had had the same idea of how to enjoy the nice day but nevertheless there was still room…
During the National holiday last week I took a brief trip out of Shenzhen for a couple of days to the small city of Shaoguan, a 4.5 hour journey inland, to visit a friend at the university there. On the way out I took the train which was a first for me in China. Despite all the dire warnings people had given me about trains in China (dirty, unsafe, crowded…) the one I was on was actually quite pleasant, albeit a bit slow. The family I sat next to was even kind enough to give me some of their food for lunch – not something you would ever find in the UK (although it might have had something to do with me practicing English…
Having walked along the central axis of Beijing for nearly 7 hours I reached what must be one if the most relaxing and tranquil places in the city; the Confucian Temple, devoted to the memory of Confucius and philosophers of Confucianism (nearby the Lama Temple). Away from the hordes of mindless American tourists this is like stepping into another world. All that can be heard is the general murmur of distant chatter and magpies singing in the trees. On a warm spring afternoon I can think of no nicer place to rest ones legs and while away a few hours which is exactly what I’m doing while typing this on my iPhone. In an age when the world was still full of mystery (the…