After spending a few days in the countryside, the size of the crowds was slightly overwhelming. I found myself more fascinated by the people than the temple.
In the morning, we took the train to Nara, which is famous for its deer.
Todaiji, home of the world's largest bronze Buddha, was being prepared for a festival.
After a few short hours, we returned to Kyoto and caught the sunset at Ginkakuji, my personal favorite.
The following morning, we continued our whirlwind tour by visiting the iconic golden pavilion, Kinkakuji.
Last, we went to Ryoanji, which was significantly quieter and more peaceful than the others.
I took a video of leaves falling off a tree into the rock garden: look closely.
After so much traveling around ... rushing people ... aggressive deer ... giggling school children ... rude hotel staff ... inattentive restaurant servers ... slow trains ... fast trains ... neon signs ... ever-present tannoy announcements ... it was lovely to sit for a few minutes in near silence and just breathe, watch, observe, contemplate, meditate.
It was beautiful.
But short-lived! As soon as we came outside, we were accosted by a troop of junior high school students asking us questions in English for their homework. Since I used to assign my students the same project when they went on their Kyoto trip, I figured it was karma: what goes around, comes around.
Perhaps the zen lifestyle rubbed off a bit after all...
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