Miyajima’s Mt. Misen
Climbing Mt. Misen was a great excuse to get out of the Airbnb, and although scrambling up to the top of a mountain has left me sore and stiff, it was worth it for the views and fresh air. Mt. Misen is on the island of Itsukushima, otherwise known as Miyajima. It’s about a 45-minute train right southwest of Hiroshima and then another 10 minutes on the ferry. Luckily, public transportation is still running, albeit on a reduced schedule.
Fortunately, I didn’t see one! Unfortunately, I didn’t see one. :(
up and up and up
the first glimpse of a lookout
We meet again, googly eyes!
Do you see the little buddha in the above picture? Almost exactly center frame.
the shiny things on the rock are coins!
The Philosopher’s Path
My day in Kyoto began with an appropriately themed Buddha Bowl from Veg Out, a delicious vegan/vegetarian restaurant with a view of the Kamo River.
view from the table at Veg Out
Nanzen-ji Zen Buddhism Temple: image of the main gate, or “sannon,” above. The original gate was built in 1296, but burned down and was reconstructed in 1628!
On the path to the waterfall shrine: Nanzen-ji oku-no-in.
The beginning of the Philosopher’s Path (Tetsugaku No Michi), so named because a well-known philosopher from the University of Kyoto, Nishida Kitaro, (one who helped begin the Kyoto school of philosophy) walked this path each day along the canal. In spring, the famous cherry blossom (sakura) are in full bloom. The entire path is only 2km, but it’s easy to spend hours here, staring and strolling.
Artist on bridge. I purchased an excellent sketching of his:
Kanazawa
Kyoto has been a great central location for the past week, as it is a relatively quick ride to many other areas nearby. One of those places is Kanazawa, a town on the Sea of Japan. Kanazawa was amazing, and in my opinion, an underrated city (similar to Dunedin in New Zealand in its relative under-ratedness). (Ishikawa in the map below is where Kanazawa is — Ishikawa is the name of the prefecture).
