Stephanie- Kyoto Temples and Shrines

Kyoto Temples and Shrines

Kyoto is a beautiful city and one of my favorite places I've visited so far in Japan. It has an amazing amount of traditional culture and over 1600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines (according to the Lonely Planet guide). Of course we didn't see them all, but we did get to visit many eautiful places, and I decided that the pictures were worthy of their own post.

Kinkaku-ji: the Golden Pavilion

Ginkaku-ji: the Silver Pavilion


My host sister having a snowball fight (Japanese sized!) with my brother and me.


Entrance to the Kiyomizu-dera temple

The water from the natural springs at the Kiyomuzu-dera temple
is thought to be sacred and have therapeutic properties.

Visitors drinking sacred water from the waterfall at Kiyomizu-dera.

Burning incense inside the temple

I have seen these stone statues with colored bibs all over Japan
and when I asked my host family about them, they explained to me
that the statues wear children's bibs because they represent the bodhisattva
who is the guardian of the souls of children, especially those who have died.

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