JAPANESE TEMPLE IN THE SNOW

There's a small local temple in Yamashina called Honkokuji.  It nestles at the foot of forest clad hills. To find it you must walk up to Biwako Canal from Misasagi and cross the red bridge. Your first tantalizing glimpse will be the red gate amid the trees. Passing through that you will see a second gate guarded by two fierce looking golden  giants. Straight ahead the main hall with a statue of a stern but gentle monk with one arm outstretched, to the left a pretty bell tower with a large golden bell.

The fish on the roof of the second gate, a small torii, an elegant Asian dragon and various other details also also gleam gold against the wooden buildings and the trees. This temple has  a lot of gold, which I'm told is unusual in Kyoto (with the notable exception of Kinkakuji.)


I often visit this photogenic little temple to take photographs. I went there recently in the snow on New Year's Eve. If you're ever in neighborhood, it's a pleasant way to spend an hour or two.

Oh, and unlike Kinkakuji, it's free, and it's never crowded!

Related articles

• Winter Wonderland in Kyoto (eatplayrove.blogspot.com)
• Snow at New Year (eatplayrove.blogspot.com)

WINTER WONDERLAND IN KYOTO

There's a canal carrying water from Lake Biwa to Kyoto that runs along the foot of the mountains behind the JR station in Yamashina. The path beside the canal is a lovely place at any season, and one of my favorite places to bike or walk. It's very lovely in Spring because the sides of the canal are lined with cherry blossom trees, and in Autumn the colored leaves over the canal are so beautiful. But over this New Year holiday it snowed in Kyoto, and turned the canal walk into a winter wonderland.

Even though I am so familiar with the path, it seemed like a brand new place. Branches weighted down with snow hung over the dark water. The whole world seemed to be changed to monochrome, all shades of gray except for occasional splashes of color - a red bridge, a pink camellia, a yellow light reflecting on the snow.

I walked along, my boots crunching in the newly fallen snow, until the light faded away and left strange shapes glowing whitely in the darkness. Finally I turned off the path and walked down the road to Yamashina JR Station. Even the station looked other-worldly that night.

SNOW AT NEW YEAR

 

When I woke up on 31st December it was snowing. Probably it had been snowing most of the night because all the rooftops and the ground were well covered.  

I really LOVE snow! 

I suppose I've never lived somewhere that has snow all winter, so I've never had a chance to get tired of the inconvenience. But I'm certain I could never become immune to to the breathtaking beauty of snow. And I suspect that for me it would make the cold and the slippery paths and the snow shoveling and the wet clothes and the dirty, damp thaw all worth it.

I bolted my breakfast, dug out my only pair of waterproof boots and the rest of my wet weather gear, and set off with my camera for the supermarket... the LONG way. I think that the most magical part of snow is while it is falling. All sound is muted, all color covered or blurred with white. 

I really LOVE snow!

I took many photos of the streets near my apartment from beneath my umbrella. I'm going to write several posts about the New Year snowfall in Kyoto. More coming soon.

STARBUCKS CHRISTMAS IN JAPAN

I arrived in Japan at the end of November 2003 and began working at an English conversation school called Nova. My workplace was right over a Starbucks cafe, which was a much nicer place to relax than the teacher's room.

Christmas decorations and fairy lights appear all over the place at Christmas, especially in shopping areas. And strangely, it's considered on a par with Valentine's Day as a romantic occasion for young couples. Some families give their kids presents, and people eat Kentucky Fried Chicken and Japanese Christmas cake. But for the majority of Japanese people it's just another day. So on my first Christmas day in Japan it was off to work as usual.

Except that...

It was my first winter Christmas (December is mid-summer in New Zealand.) And when I woke up and looked out the window, it had snowed lightly. So it was my first white Christmas too! I walked to work with snowflakes drifting down and catching on my eyelashes. I went early because I decided to treat myself to a Starbucks coffee before work. At that hour of the morning there weren't many people about, and I got an armchair by the window. They were playing my favorite Christmas album - Bing Crosby - and the coffee was good. I sat watching the snow and enjoying the ambience. It was a perfect moment.

It's a really precious memory!

Related articles

• Christmas came early to Starbucks this year (seattlepi.com)
• Bing Crosby - "White Christmas" (joetroiano.wordpress.com)