Christmas & more adventures

I've had a few busy days, celebrating sort-of-christmas, going back to Osaka on a small trip, and, of course, seeing a few more temples.

I went back to Kurama a few days before christmas. The observant reader may remember Kurama as being the site of the Kurama Fire Festival - but when I went there last time, I didn't get to see the temple, nor did I see much of Mount Kurama. So, I decided to go there by bike, since the city is only some 15 km away. It made for a nice trip. Once in Kurama, the I had to do a bit of walking in the mountains, in order to reach the Kurama-dera temple.

Some deities and I

Giant trees, and some steps leading up to the main temple

More stairs

The view from maybe halfways up the mountain

 Perhaps equally impressive was the view from the walk up - offering a good view of the nearby mountain ranges, what I can only get a short glimpse at when walking in downtown Kyoto.

The roof of part of the Kurama-dera temple

The Kurama-dera temple. Full image here.

The horizon, as seen from Mount Kurama. Full image here.

Me, a bit tired after the bike-ride, followed by a walk up a mountain

Another part of the temple

And more horizon. Full image here.

After walking to the main temple, one can follow a path that leads over a small mountain top, and ends at the road to Kurama, just a few kilometers from the city. This is part of that trail.

My bike, and the entrance to the temple

On the way back from Mount Kurama. The river in the image is the Kamo river. Full image here.

I bought a painting, just a few days before christmas. I wasn't exactly looking to buy any art, but I came across a beautiful painting that I just had to get, during a visit to the Kyoto Museum of Traditional Arts & Crafts.

With the help of the staff, I arranged to meet the artist behind the painting, so that I could meet her, and buy the painting from artist directly. It turned out to be a bit of a major event: the artist brought her mom, a friend of the mom, a student of the artist, as well as several other persons from the museum. Many, MANY bows and thank you's were exchanged, and I got a beautiful painting.

From the right: a guy from the museum, the artist (Yoshie Mineshima), me, the painting, the artists mom, another guy from the museum, a friend of the artist, and yet another guy from the museum.

The museum had good examples of traditional crafts...

... and of new interpretations of old crafts.

Another temple I went to recently, was the Kamigamo shrine. That temple is perhaps one of the less impressive that I have seen here - but a World Heritage site nonetheless.

Look at that order! All the bikes are in the same direction, none of them are on the path that one is supposed to ride on. Many of the bikes are not locked, either. Mon dieu, how I love Japan!

Kamigamo shrine

Part of Kamigamo shrine

The Nishijin Textile Center has a kimono show about five times a day. Andy and I went there for a brief visit on the 23rd.

Stunning.

 I spent the evening of the 23rd with Andy and some other friends. We had cooked something that resembles a danish christmas dinner: among the dishes was ryebread with marinated herring, sugar potatoes, cooked red cabbage, and, of course, risalamande for dessert.

December 23rd.

Not the most flattering of images, but little Leo was quite cute!

Risalamande

I went to see some dance on the 24th, on Urbanguild. A small dance company called "KIKIKIKIKIKI" put on a spectacular show.

Four of the nine members of the dance company

One sorta-sketch they did, was the apparently universal scene of bored housewife, and disinterested husband. Maybe you had to be there, but it was good, and quite funny.

Santa Lucia'ish

The dance company in all its splendor

The head of the dance company, a very upbeat man

Christmas eve 2010

Kamo river and Kyoto city on christmas eve, 2010

I joined Couchsurfing not too long ago, and joined a tour, arranged by some people on Couchsurfing, to the Maishima incineration plant in Osaka. While visiting an incineration plant may not sound interesting in itself, the fact that the plant was designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, made it quite a nice sight. It was certainly a welcome change from the otherwise dull buildings that Osaka is so full of.

Not the usual look of an incineration plant.

Scale model

... part of the inside of the plant.

Notice the different colors of the doors. Part of the garbage trucks in Osaka city (perhaps also in much of the rest of Japan?)  run either fully or partially on biofuels.

Not your usual chimney

The chimney again

After seeing the plant, we went to a nice restaurant that had specialized in making many different dishes with tuna. This is one of the many delicious dishes.

A few more World Heritage Sites

It's time for another batch of pictures. I haven't got much news to share; there's still no news on the (possible) job. So I spend my time with more sightseeing, going to concerts, and generally having a blast.

The recent trip include one to the Daigo-Ji temple, this one being in central Kyoto.

Your friendly neighborhood police officer

A five-story pagoda at the Daigo-Ji temple. This is the oldest building in Kyoto.

This temple is another World Heritage site. The most impressive sight in this temple was a collection of Buddha-statues. Taking photos of these statues was not allowed, so you'll have to go and take a look yourself if you want to see them :)

2x16 leaf chrysanthemum, at a gate in the Daigo-ji temple

Another view of the five-story pagoda in Daigo-ji temple.

Recent trips also include one to Uji, a small town a bit outside Kyoto. Uji is known for three things: its production of green tea, and for two temples - both of them World Heritage sites. I spent a day in Uji, seeing the temples and drinking a lot of green tea.

Uji struck me as being a more pleasant city, compared to Nara, another popular destination outside. Uji is a smaller, and it seemed less crowded - though the torrential downpour could be to blame for that.

A newly rebuilt tree-bridge. I think the lady sitting on the stone is Murasaki Shikibu, the author of The Tale of Genji.

Give a coin, roll a prayer

Part of the Ujigami shrine, in Uji. Full image here.

Me in the torrential downpour. I'm on my way up a Mt. Daikichi, a small hill of some 124 meters.

A view over Uji, from Mt. Daikichi. Full image here.

There were carps in the fire cistern. I think there's a joke to be made here, about a fire yielding broiled fish. I'll leave that joke to be made, as an exercise to the reader :)

A bell at Kosho-ji temple

Finely detailed handiwork, at the Kosho-ji temple.

Slippers...

I also went a bit outside the trodden path, and went to a dam a half-hour walk outside Uji. Saw a dam, not much else.

Amagasegawa dam, outside Uji

Amagasegawa dam

Man, helping mother nature since ... whenever

A river runs through Uji

Byodo-in temple, a World Heritage site. Another marvelous temple. This temple is depicted on the 10-yen coin.

The Byodo-In temple. Full image here.

A bell near Byodo-in temple

Happy me, on a bridge in Uji

The Kosho-ji temple, in Uji. Not a World Heritage site, but incredibly beautiful nonetheless. The picture really doesn't do it justice. This may very well be my favorite temple :)

I climbed Mount Atago a few days ago. Mount Atago is, with it's 924 meters, the second-tallest mountain in the Kyoto region. I went there with Andy, a friend from Denmark, who's visiting Japan (again, I might add: it's his seventh time here).

A picture taken at the Hozukyo train stop, the stop nearest to Mt. Atago. The station located on a bridge crossing this ravine.

Taking a break on the way up.

One of the easier passages on the way up.

On the way to the temple on top of Mt. Atago.

The last stretch of stairs before we reached the temple at the top of Mt. Atago

The temple at the top of the mountain was relatively new - less than 10 years old, I  would guess, but the artwork was still fantastic.

It was freezing by a few degrees at the top of the mountain - it is the first frost I've felt this winter!

Andy rescuing a bird

Stairs down.

 The city at the bottom of the mountains may be Kyoto, or one of the cities in the built-up corridor between Kyoto and Osaka.

Another look at the view from the top of the mountain. 

Another distinctive roof, in a village at the base of Mt. Atago, and other nearby mountains.

There was an old shrine near the above-mentioned village. An old emperor (Emperor Seiwa, reigned 858-876) is buried here. The man on the picture is Andy.

On the way home: the famed light at the end of the tunnel.

Not much else to report, I'm afraid - so just enjoy the pictures!