Day Two

Dawn came early at 5:30am, but many of us were already awake.  We waited impatiently for 8:00 to roll around so we could eat breakfast buffet-style of scrambled eggs, sausages, toast, spaghetti salad, miso soup, rice, and orange juice.  By 9:00am we were on the bus to our first stop: Ryoanji Temple to see the famous meditation rock garden.

For companion photos, see:

2009_Junior_Wings

While it is still only the first day, we are impressed by all (and I mean all) of your children.  They are minding their manners and following instructions.  Ryoanji Temple is a very quiet, meditative temple and it was important for us not to disturb the contemplative mood.  They all sat quietly on the veranda looking out over the stones temporarily lost in their own contemplative moment.  Things were different, though, when we hit the souvenir stands!

Our next stop was Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavillion Temple.  Near the entrance was a large bell visitors could ring for a 200 yen fee.  Several of the boys decided to do it and they sent beautiful, deep tones floating over the temple.  After going through the gate and rounding a corner, the Golden Pavillion was suddenly right there in front of us.  I think it was at that moment that many of the students fully realized where they were, having learned about the Golden Pavillion back home and now there it was right in front of them.

The temple sits on a small island out in a lake and the slant of the roof and verandahs give the impression that the temple is floating in the lake.  Even though the entire temple is covered in gold leaf, it is not ostentatious, rather it sits in the lake like a swan, beautiful, but humble.

We wound are way along the paths through the garden to an outdoor tea garden where we rested for a while and drank macha with sweet bean cakes with a sprinkle of gold leaf.  The hot, frothy, bitter tea perfectly offset the very sweet cake.  More souvenirs!  Again, the chaperones were impressed by the way all the students were buying souvenirs for family, but very little for themselves!

Once outside the temple we found our way to an all-you-can-eat restaurant for lunch, Japanese-style.  Everyone found things they liked and all were quite full by the time we got back on the bus.

Next stop, the Imperial Palace.  The palace and its grounds sit in the middle of the city.  The moment we walked through the gate, we were immediately surrounded by something much of Japan doesn’t have – space!  To help the students understand how luxurious the space is, we walked the full length of the grounds – nearly a mile -- along the wall of the palace (the palace is closed to the general public so we couldn’t go in).

From the palace we walked another half-mile to the main shopping area of Kyoto.  We split up into three groups (each with one chaperone!).  We met an hour later and everyone had found some kind of treasure to bring home.  Some of the groups had re-fueled on coffee and ice cream while the others found a Mister Donut shop.  Either way, caffeine and sugar kept our feet moving toward our last stop for the day, Nijo Castle.  Even so, we were seven minutes too late.  The gate had closed for the day.  We were going to have to try again in the morning.  One last bus ride took us back to the youth hostel.

Dinner was grilled fish with white miso, tofu, rice….  Everyone tried at least some of it.  Later, I noticed several students munching ice cream sandwiches from the vending machines.  You can probably guess who they were! 

Jet lag and the long, long walk, followed by a hot bath or shower put most of us to bed by 8:30 or 9:00.