Enjoying Japan’s History - part 2

Continuing last month’s report about our organised tour of Japan, we had just arrived back at Tokyo Station after a hectic day to head back to the hotel for a good night’s rest ready for the next day.

Mt Fuji a dormant volcano

Day four to Mt. Fuji & Hakone would be more relaxing as we set off with just an overnight bag to drive through the countryside.  We enjoyed incredible views especially whilst lunching half way up Mount Fuji (Fujisan) a dormant volcano, which most recently erupted in 1708. At 3776 metres is Japan's highest mountain and not surprisingly the nearly perfectly shaped volcano has been worshipped as a sacred mountain and remains popular amongst artists and ordinary people.

Mount Fuji stands on the border between Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures and can be seen from Tokyo and Yokohama on clear days.

Then on to Lake Ashi to experience a delightful cruise aboard a large sightseeing boat where the. crisp air and surrounding scenery refreshed us before enjoying sweeping views of the celebrated Hakone National Park with a ride up and down Mt. Komagatake on the aerial cableway

We ended the day in a well deserved relaxing hot spring bath at our hotel Kowaki-en in Hakone

The largest Buddha

Ready for our fifth day to Nara & Kyoto we departed after breakfast on a Super Express train to Kyoto.  Following a Japanese style lunch at the New Miyako Hotel our new base we enjoyed an afternoon tour of Nara, which included Todaiji ‘Great Eastern Temple’ one of Japan's most famous and historically significant temples and a landmark of Nar a. Not only does Todaiji house Japan's largest Buddha statue (Daibutsu), but it is also the world's largest wooden building, even though the present reconstruction of 1692 is only two thirds of the original temple's size. Todaiji was constructed in 752 as the head temple of all provincial Buddhist temples of Japan and grew so powerful that the capital was moved from Nara to Nagaoka in 784 in order to lower its influence on government affairs.

Breathtaking buildings

On day six we spent our morning in Kyoto, which used to be Japan's capital when the Imperial Family were resident here from the time Emperor Kanmu moved the nation's capital to Kyoto in 794 until the time it was moved to Tokyo in 1868. It is now the country's seventh largest city with a population of 1.4 million people.  Over the centuries, Kyoto was destroyed by many wars and fires, but interestingly we learnt that due to its historic value, the city was not chosen as a target of air raids during World War II. Thankfully numerous temples, shrines and other historically precious structures survive in the city today.

Our tour included the breathtaking Kinkaku-ji (Rokuon-ji), which is better known to us as the Golden Pavilion. It was built by the third Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimitsu, in the 14th century, to serve as his retirement villa and instructed that the building would be converted into a temple upon his death. Unfortunately in 1950, a student monk who had become obsessed with the building set it alight, destroying the structure. Mercifully an exact replica of the original pavilion has since been rebuilt. The upper section of this brilliant Golden Pavilion is covered in gold leaf and a bronze phoenix sits on top of the building, which stands beside a central pond.

The layout of the grounds is a prime example of Muromachi period garden design and within the grounds is a moss garden area.  Like many visitors before us we had little success as we attempted to toss coins into a small bowl surrounded by three stones

The Imperial Palace

Kyoto Imperial Palace has burnt down several times and has been reconstructed faithfully in ancient style, the last rebuilding was completed in 1855.  It is rectangular in shape, covering an area of approximately 11 hectares and surrounded by an earthen wall called Tsuiji, it has six gates, including the main Kenreimon gate.

With the Shishinden (Ceremonial Hall) as the main building, the Seiryoden, the Kogosho, and several other structures can also be found here. To the south of the Shishinden is the Dan-tei (Courtyard) of white sand.  On three sides is a white walled corridor with bright vermilion pillars and along the corridor, opposite to the Shishinden is the Jomeimon gate.

After lunch at the Kyoto Handicraft centre we visited the Sanjusangendo Hall, Sanjusangendo Renge-o-in was founded in 1164 AD By command of Emperor Goshirakawa , a pious devotee to Kannon Bodhisattva, who desired to bring peace throughout the country by encouraging the Buddhistic faith. The common name Sanjusangendo means a hall of 33 bays, the number 33 is derived from the belief that Kannon Bodhisattva saves all mankind by disguising itself into 33 different figures. After the hall was destroyed by fire in 1249, Emperor Gosaga issued a decree to reconstruct another in the very same style as the original building and the arrangement of 1,001 Kannons.  The building and 1,032 statues were completed in 1266 AD

Our final day of touring would include Hiroshima & Miyajima where we would see one of Japan's three most beautiful spots and UNESCO World Heritage Site – the Itsukushima Shrine, and its red "floating" torii.  It started with a 2 hr train journey from Kyoto to Hiroshima on board Super Express Hikari (one of the Shinkansen, Bullet Train services).  Then to Miyajima-guchi station from where we took one of the regular ferries that operate to Miyajima Island.

A holy place

The island has been a holy place to both Buddhism and Shintoism since the earliest times. The first shrine buildings here were probably erected in the 6th century. The present shrine dates from the 13th century and the harmoniously arranged buildings reveal great artistic and technical skill. The shrine plays on the contrasts in colour and form between mountains and sea and illustrates the Japanese concept of scenic beauty, which combines nature and human creativity. It was forbidden to build on the island - so the island's Itsukushima Shrine, is built on posts rising up out of the water. Like all other visitors to the Shrine, at the entrance we had to wash using the water basins and bamboo ladles before entering the complex. When the island was still considered sacred, visitors to the shrine were not permitted to set foot on the island, and would visit by passing through the red "floating" torii.  At low tide we saw people walk out to push coins into cracks in the red wooden torii for good luck.

Having returned to our hotel in Kyoto for our last night in Japan we chatted with our new found friends about the many places we had seen in such a short period before retiring to bed. In the morning we had some free time to look at local sights and buy those last minute presents before our guide collected us from the hotel to escort us to Kyoto station ensuring we had a seamless journey to Kansai International Airport for our onward journey home.