Cherry Blossom Season in Kyoto!

Much delayed, but here are some photos from the day in Kyoto!

I'll write some more posts soon about some of the highlights of the first few weeks of the new school year here in Japan, as well as some photos I'll be taking on a trip to SPring-8 this weekend, so stay tuned!

Toji Temple

My first stop in Kyoto was to see Toji Temple (which I visited before in December for the massive flea market they hold there. I'll be doing some serious yukata-shopping there again come June 21st!). It was nice to see the temple during a sunny day, versus the rainy one it was the last time I was there. However, that darned temple is just about as impossible to photograph in daylight as it is during cloudy weather; it seems no matter what angle you try to take a photograph of it, it ends up looking like a big black box in the sky. The cherry blossoms were nice, though! And there were turtles everywhere; though they were only Red-Eared Sliders, which makes them an invasive species, but they were still fun to watch splashing around.

Some turtles building a pyramid, and watching all the humans taking photographs of them. 

A massive weeping cherry tree, supported by wooden beams. It was really impressive to see in person! 

The big black box in the sky  Toji Temple in the distance. 

I think these are weeping cherry blossoms, but I could be wrong. They're pretty pink flowers, whatever they are!  

There were cherry trees blooming all around Toji Temple! 

Some super bright blossoms of some kind growing behind one of the small shrines near Toji Temple. Maybe they're cherry blossoms, too? 

Kyoto City Aquarium

Since it wasn't far from Toji Temple, I thought I'd stop by the Kyoto Aquarium. It was a small one, but it was very well done. They only finished building it two years ago, and it has a lot of exhibits based on areas of Japan. I think I managed to go by each exhibit as it became feeding time, so I got to watch a lot of really cool aquatic behaviors up close. Alas, my camera isn't a fan of taking photos of things behind glass walls, so I don't have much to show for it. This one photo is of the "main" tank, which was very hypnotic to watch. 

Kiyomizu-dera Temple 

The following photos are from Kiyomizu-dera Temple, one of Kyoto's most famous temples, and some of the areas around it. Unfortunately for me, Kiyomizu-dera was under some substantial renovation, so I couldn't see most of the main buildings. Add in the gigantic crowds, and it actually wasn't a very fun experience. I guess this is a really popular destination during Cherry Blossom Season, and the crowding on the buses to-and-back from Kiyomizu-dera was pretty much unbearable. In the end, I think this was my least favorite place to visit this Spring vacation. 

A stone lantern near the base of the mountain to Kiyomizu-dera. I don't see too many palm-type trees in Japan, so I liked the juxtaposition here. 

Fallen cherry blossoms and petals in a purification fountain outside of a temple. They looked amazing even floating on the water! 

A small temple on the way to Kiyomizu-dera. A lot of people were praying at this one, it was interesting to watch. 

A small shrine on the way to Kiyomizu-dera, closer to the top.

There was a large graveyard spread along the slopes of the mountain. The headstones literally stretched on further than I could see. I wonder how old some of them are?

A lot of women (and some men) were in traditional kimonos while visiting Kiyomizu-dera Temple. In fact, there were so many, I can only assume that it is a traditional thing to wear while cherry blossom viewing here.  

Some kind of temple that you could see from the terrace of Kiyomizu-dera. 

A view of the terrace of the main Kiyomizu-dera Temple (it's famous for this terrace, which is similar in style to the main temple at Mt. Shosha). You can see how crowded it could be there, as well as some of the renovation going on around it. 

A view of Kyoto beyond the mountain. 

This is looking at Kiyomizu-dera from that tall red temple in an earlier photograph. By the time I got to this spot, a dragon dance had begun on the terrace of Kiyomizu-dera. Can you see the golden dragon? Apparently this dance is one of the major attractions for the temple. 

Finally, a shot of a famous fountain at Kiyomizu-dera. Each of the three (can't see all three in the photo) fountains grants good fortune in different ways: in luck, in school life, and in your love life. Drinking from all three is considered really greedy.