Ryoan-ji and Kinkaku-ji

We were going to get up early to get to our last two sights in Kyoto before the crowds filled them. I am so glad we opted to have a sleep in and worry about the crowds when we got there. It was kind of disappointing again.

The morning started with an extremely packed bus, that got even fuller as the trip went. Little old ladies can be super pushy when they want to get on a bus. We went to Ryoan-ji first, which is meant to be Japan's most famous Zen garden, and very busy. It wasn't so busy. And it was a bit ho-hum. It was another ambling walk through the gardens, with a stop at one rock garden. Which was, underwhelming. It also appeared to be where almost all of the current visitors had decided to sit down in front of for a rest. There are 15 rocks in total, in groups, and one rock will always be hidden no matter where you look at the garden from. I was imagining it to be a lot bigger. I did discover here that I had been using squat toilets backwards. The ones there had helpful little pictures, and also pointed out how hygienic they are because you don't touch the toilet. Never mid the high probability of splashback and dropping something in there.

We walked the 800m to Kinkaku-ji, unlike everyone else, who caught a bus. I think the guide book got Ryoan-ji and Kinkaku-ji mixed up, because there were hundreds of people at Kinkaku-ji and even a separate ticket line for groups of more than 30. As you enter the grounds, you immediately realise just how many people are in there with you, as they flank the railing 3 or 4 people deep to get their selfie with the golden temple. Kinkaku-ji is literally covered in gold, as ridiculous as that sounds. It looks so pretty in all the professional photos. Brandon put my feelings into words best, it's opulent but boring. If you've seen a photo of the temple beautifully reflected in the lake in front of it, you've seen it all. You're probably not going to get a photo that even comes close to the ones you've seen on the internet. Especially if it's windy and rainy, like it was when we visited. You also have the huge crowd to deal with. There is a one-way path, and it funnels you through a garden of sorts, and then past stalls selling things. It felt a lot like being a sheep in the yards.

Kinkaku-ji

Maybe it's because I had expectations for these two temples because the guide book talked them up, but they just seemed a bit of a waste of time. I felt so uninspired to take photos because they would all just be the exact same as all the others.