[JAPAN] Love on a rainy day…
February 26th, 2010
— Kyoto —
Our second day in Kyoto, we woke up to a light drizzle, which later became light shower through out the day. The day had been planned for sightseeing, so alot of foot work was involved. Weather did make it a little tedious getting around, however it didn’t keep us in!
It was around Y800 to get into the garden, of which u have access to 3 buildings.
First stop was to view Toji, the highest pagoda in Japan, or rather tallest building to be made entirely of wood. It is most well known for its 5 tiers. The pagoda was established since 796A.D, it commemorates the discovery of a new sector in Buddhism. It acts as a shrine, housing several sacred deities. Toji had a tragic past, having been burnt down several times due to lightning, so several restorations have been made. It was quite interesting being in such an old building, full of history.
The other buildings similarly housed sacred statues of buddhas.
Next stop was, Fushimi Inari Shrine.
The photo below shows its iconic red gates that creates a pathway in the shrine grounds. Going there, I had no idea the significance of this shrine is, and later found out that it is devoted to Inari – the God of sake, rice and prosperity. So it was popular amongst business men and the prosperity of their businesses that they would put up a gate along this path as well.
It tends to look red in photos, but trust me, it is more of an orange.
Next stop was the kiyomizu shrine (I didn’t take any photos, since the rain got nastier), surrounding it was several other shrines too. I knew of there being a shrine for love/relationships somewhere in Kyoto, which we found out was also near kiyomizu. The girls were quite excited about paying a visit, hoping they will have a chance for love this year (wish you all the best!), and we joked saying, that’s all, and the only shrine we need to go to!
It was indeed quite popular, mostly women (as you can see in the photo below, and the occasional guy). It’s a really small, yet crowded space, so the weather didn’t help. I recognize the character for relationship! The red character in the circle 
After praying, we came across the love stone, which sat in the middle of the pathway… my friend gave it a go and she successfully made it across to the other stone! now we’ll wait and see what happens this year!
the other love stone.
its so sweet looking at these wishes, though i can’t read it but i see love hearts everywhere… so these people must be very much in love
after this i didn’t take any more photos, because we strolled down the nearby old japanese styled streets, filled with souvenir stores. This took us several hours! until closing time.
Apparently there is also a street where, if you trip, you will have bad luck for 3 years. Fortunately none of us slipped! I did slip though, but it was on a paved road – that can’t be it right? 
I thoroughly enjoyed walking through the historic part of kyoto Please avoid rainy days!
stole it off my friend’s camera, thanks resta
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