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Going abroad to study can be exciting and an adventure.
Summer has come to Japan.
As Spring 2021 semseter is closing. We connect with Zam and a group of International Students from Malaysia, as they share their holiday in Japan during the Summer Break in 2021.
Come in and take a look as our International Student Ambassador (ISA) shares their story.
Hi everyone, this is Zam an ISA from the Information Systems Science and Engineering (ISSE) course.
It is summer of 2021, and summer vacation is back.
The other day I got together with a group of Malaysian Ritsumeikan students from BKC (Biwako-Kusatsu Campus). They were Alina and Stanley from 3rd Year ISSE, Aishah and Shaun from 2nd Year ISSE, and Erika from 2nd Year Life Science. Our plan was to visit several shrines and temples around the Yasaka shrine area, Kyoto.
Lunch at Rindu Bali
Before we went out to Kyoto, we had lunch at an Indonesian restaurant called Rindu Bali, located in Ishiyama, Shiga. The restaurant is about 6 minutes walking distance from Ishiyama station.
I ordered a plate of Bihun Goreng, a dish that is popular in Indonesia and Malaysia. It is a dish made from thin noodles and fried with a mixture of vegetables, prawns, etc.
Bihun Goreng
After lunch, our first stop was Yasaka shrine in Gion, Kyoto.
From Ishiyama station on the JR line, we took the train and got off at Yamashina station.
Here we changed trains to the Tozai subway line, and took the subway from Yamashina station on the Tozai subway line, and got off at Higashiyama station.
Map 1. The route from Ishiiyama Station to Yamashina Station, then the change to Higashiyama Station (Maps by google.com)
Then we walked for about 10 minutes to reach the Yasaka shrine. Refer to Map 2, at the end of the blog for a full map of the travels today.
Yasaka Shrine, about 10 minutes walk south from Higashiyama Station (Maps by google.com)
The Yasaka shrine, with over 1300 years of history, is one of the revered shrines in Kyoto and Japan.
One of the structures found in Yasaka shrine
Next stop was Maruyama Park that is located right behind Yasaka shrine. All you need to do is walk across the shrine grounds to the torii gate, opposite from the front gate. Maruyama Park is known for its Sakura trees, and a lot of people and from around the world would come here during Sakura season to do hanami (花見, Sakura viewing, where people view Sakura while having a picnic among Sakura trees).
A bridge heading into Maruyama Park
From Maruyama Park, we went to Chion-in, just 10 minutes walking distance. Chion-in is a Buddhist temple from the 17th century and is the head temple for Jodo Shu (Pure Land Sect) of Buddhism. When we reached Chion-in we were greeted by the Sanmon (山門, main gate), an enormous black wooden entrance gate. It was very impressive!
Chion-in’s Sanmon
After passing the Sanmon, we had to climb a flight of steps to get to the main temple ground which was located at the top of a hill. It was a good workout!
Looking down at the Sanmon from the top of the steps
At the top of the steps, we came to a huge open space with large temple buildings dotted around the temple ground. At the center of the grounds is the largest structure, the Mieido, a prayer hall. There are two gardens located inside the temple grounds, the Hojo garden and Yuzen’en garden.
There are admission fees for these gardens, Hojo garden costs 500yen and Yuzen’en garden costs 400yen.
The Mieido in Chion-in
After Chion-in, we moved to one of the most iconic Buddhist temples in Kyoto and Japan, Kiyomizu-dera.
It is located on Mount Otowa and it took us around 20 minutes on foot to reach it. Most of the way would be an up-hill walk, along a street for pedestrians with traditional looking shops lining the street, on both sides, on the way to the temple. The shops sells both modern and traditional items, from beauty products, bicycle shops, arts and crafts and traditional sweets. You can also find a Starbucks branch here.
In one of the streets leading to Kiyomizu-dera
Kiyomizu-dera has been around for more than 1200 years and it stands halfway up Mount Otowa. It is famous for its large over hanging balcony at the Hondo (main hall) which gives us some amazing views of the forest surrounding the temple ground.
View from Hondo, to Okuno-in hall on the far side
We also get an awesome view of Kyoto city and we can easily spot Kyoto’s iconic landmark, the Kyoto Tower.
View of Kyoto city from the Hondo. Can you spot Kyoto Tower?
From the Hondo looking down, we are able to see the Otowa no Taki (Otowa waterfall) at the lower portion of the temple ground.
Otowa no taki (Otowa waterfall)
Here is a map of our walk in Kyoto. (Map 2)
Map 2. A summer walk in Kyoto, our path we took from Higashiyama Station all the way to Kiyomizu-dera (Maps by google.com)
Kiyomizu-dera was our last destination for the day. We then walked all the way back to Kyoto station which took us around 28 minutes, and then we took a train back to Minami-Kusatsu.
Remember my train guide back to Minami-Kusatsu? Go have a look to find out how we took the trains back to Minami-kusatsu.
And that ends our summer walk around Kyoto.
Thank you for taking your time to read our adventure.
Zam , ISA @ ISSE, BKC 2021
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