We went to Japan in May. Don't for a minute think that I am some sort of a rich bloke, to be able to afford a holiday in Japan. I'm not. :-D We were staying with friends. ;-) Else, you really can't afford to go there. The place is so damned expensive that there should be an international law against such prices. I took a cab. Big mistake. Big, big mistake. Then, I went to sleep for 15 minutes. Bigger mistake. 0) I woke up, had a look at the meter and, almost fainted for another 15 minutes. :-O
Anyway, Japan was where I used a digital camera for the first time in my life. But hey, I am an old fashioned sort of guy, you know!!
Okay, Kyoto. We went to two temples. The first was Kinkaikuji. The Golden Temple. Very beautiful and, very touristy. As you can see, there's this pond in the middle, with a tree. There's also a lot of carp swimming in the pond. Apparantly, a sacred sort of fish. I believe that it signifies strength. But, I am sure Kay would know.
Kiyomizu Dera was much more interesting. Apparantly, it belongs to the Kita Hoso sect and, was founded by a priest called Enchin. It holds the image of Kannon Bosatsu - God of Mercy. There's also this wonderful stream of water flowing down the hill and, from which you can drink. Lovely tasting water.
You'll see pictures of people against trees and, people against the temple shrine. I tried to give some perspective to the distance. The people were about 10 metres from me and, the trees and temple - about 200 metres. The trees are huge. Very peaceful place. You can sense the peace and the general aura of veneration. Very perfect.
