Nineteenth day in Japan

To-ji Temple

The dining room at our hotel, where the breakfast spread is an optimistic way to start the day:

Friday may have been Tanabata 七夕, but the 神 seemingly ignored our entreaties for a comfortable day out on the town, first by making the weather unbearably hot and humid. This day would be "my day" in Kyōto 京都. I've seen virtually all of the famous sights on my previous half-dozen or so visits to Japan's ancient imperial capital, but there were still several boxes that I had not yet ticked. Sanjūsangen-dō Temple 三十三間堂 was one of them. It was already over 30° Celsius when we arrived there late in the morning:

The temple is known for its long, narrow edifice housing 1001 wooden statutes of Kannon 観音, the Buddhist goddess of mercy. The main image is a 1000-armed Senjū-Kannon carved in 1254, and flanked by 500 smaller Kannons, lined in neat rows. It's a stunning sight, but photography isn't allowed inside the main building, so you either need to do some Googling, or have a gander at the pamphlets we were given along with our entry tickets:

Photography is allowed outside, and you can tell Amber was already weltering in the heat even before lunchtime:

Notice the length of the building. The hallway on the opposite side from the statues was once used for archery contests:

From the temple we walked over to the Kamo River 鴨川 and waited for our next connecting bus:

Lunch (in air-conditioned comfort and free iced water-provided comfort):

Next up on the completion list following 昼食 was Nishi Hongan-ji 西本願寺, a Buddhist temple featuring some of the best examples of Azuchi-Momoyama period 安土桃山時代 architecture still standing. On the way to the main gate we passed by the colorful Kara-mon 唐門:

Entering the temple via the Goeidōmon Gate 御影堂門:

The Goei-dō 御影堂 (Founders Hall), large enough to hold 1200 people on its tatami-mat 畳 floors:

Next door is the Amidadō 阿弥陀堂:

Looking at the Kara-mon from inside the temple:

The only disappointment was discovering the Daisho-in Hall 大書院 wasn't open to visitors, meaning we couldn't see its garden and Noh 能 stages:

From Nishi Hongan-ji it was another short bus trip to the final stop on my Kyoto bucket list, Tō-ji 東寺.

The Hōzō 宝蔵 (Treasure House), like many traditional Japanese buildings, was erected with using a single nail:

The main attraction at To-ji is the Five-Story Pagoda 五重塔 (1644), a dominating feature of the landscape just south of Kyoto Station 京都駅:

To-ji's history dates back to 794, though the buildings within are of a more recent vintage. The Kondō 金堂 (Golden Hall) only goes back to 1603...:

...while the history of the Kōdō 講堂 (Lecture Hall) only starts from 1491:

As with Sanjusangen-do, you're not allowed to photograph the magnificent statues within, so here's another pamphlet to give you an idea:

From Kyoto we traveled to Nishinomiya 西宮 by way of Ōsaka 大阪 to realize a long-held dream of mine - seeing a Hanshin Tigers 阪神タイガーズ game at Hanshin Kōshien Stadium 阪神甲子園球場, Japan's answer to Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. Alas, despite there only being a light drizzle by the time we arrived at the ballpark, we learned that the game had been postponed due to rain (actually, we found out during the train ride there, but at that point it was too late to turn back):

Still, many fans were taking the postponement in good humor:

At least I can say I made it to the gates of Koshien:

A monument to Babe Ruth, who played in the ballpark during a barnstorming tour of Japan in late 1934:

Tigers great Tomoaki Kanemoto 金本知憲, who holds the world baseball records for consecutive games played without missing an inning (1492), and consecutive innings (13,686):

Looking on the bright side, I was able at least to pick up a Tigers jersey, and one that actually fits:

The girl and I had dinner near the ballpark, with proof that even Japanese food court cuisine is of high quality:

At Koshien Station 甲子園駅 waiting for a train to take us back to Kyoto via Osaka Station 大阪駅. Amber suggested I should be posing with my 我是台灣人 T-shirt, but the girl is the real deal and thus made a better model::

At Osaka Station 大阪駅. My daughter actually thinks Myaku-Myaku ミャクミャク, the official mascot for the upcoming Expo 2025 2025年日本国際博覧会, is kind of cute:

Kyōto Tower 京都タワー, which we would visit the following night:

A small Buddhist temple on a quiet side street south of Kyoto Station:

The following days in the Kinki region 近畿地方 will be left to my daughter to decide what to do and where to go. Check back to find out what she decides upon...