Always go for non-smoking cabins. We were glad that we bought the JR passes as we were allowed to change train timings as and when we like @ no additional costs. Essentially useful when we always miss the morning trains.
Waiting for Shinkansen to arrive at the platform. The Shinkansen (新幹線 "New Main Line") also known as "the bullet train" is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by 4JR Group companies.
We bought bread to munch on board the train to Kyoto.
P1 of the journey completed once we arrived at Kyoto. P2 required us to catch an internal subway.
Continued with P3 - waiting for the bus.
The bus was pretty crowded even though it was a weekday.
Alighted @ the bus stop. No, we have yet to reach our destination yet.
P4 of the journey: to walk up the slope. The slope was narrow enough for 1 car to move at a time.
It gradually became a shopping street & no cars are allowed.
Our initial choice of lunch; a tofu place recommended by Leecher's colleague.
Leecher venturing to 2nd floor as the 1st floor was fully filled.
To our dismay, the whole place was full house :( We can only take this picture to console ourselves that we ever set foot on this place.
As per the dummy guide: long queues = food must be good.
Hee, it felt kinda warm & filled with love when sharing this bun with Leecher :)From taking the Shinkansen > Internal Subway > Bus > Walking, this is what we came for ....
I have the sudden urge to stay in the woods, if I can be surrounded by the beauty of mother nature everyday.
Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺) is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto UNSECO World Heritage site. Kiyomizu-dera was founded in the early Heian period. Not a single nail was used in the whole temple. It takes its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hills. Kiyomizu means clear/pure water.Kiyomizu Temple takes its name from the holy water of the Otowa Spring. Enchin, a monk from Yamato Temple Nara had a dream and was told to look for a holy water site. So he came and found Otowa Spring at Mt. Higashiyama where he met a hermit Gyoei who gave him a log for carving in the likeness of Kannon Bosatsu, after which the image was enshrined at the spring and this is the beginning of Kiyomizu-dera.
As with every temple, the most significant building will be the pagoda. Took more pictures outside before we entered the temple.
Leecher queueing up to buy our tickets, can you spot him? 
The tickets with a saying behind"When Kannon-sama arises in your mind, then you are in Oneness with Kannon-sama"
This has become a standard routine with every temple/shrine that we visit.
Wooden tablets of wishes & prayers from visitors all over the world.
It was an amazing feeling seeing the autumn colours in plain view. I've gushed over the prettiness of the colours numerous times that Leecher thinks I am a broken trumpet.
My tiny hands cant even fill up 1/4 of the gigantic footprints.
Besides being part of the world heritage, Kiyomizu-dera is perhaps the most beloved of Kyoto's temples and is a fixture in the minds of the Japanese people. The expression "to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu" is the Japanese equivalent of the English expression "to take the plunge". This refers to an Edo period tradition that if one were to survive the 13m jump from the stage, his wish would be granted. 234 jumps were recorded in the Edo period and of those, 85.4% survived. This practice is now prohibited.
The temple's veranda juts out of the side of a mountain, supported by 13m high wooden columns (seen in the 1st picture above). The main hall, with its distinctive hip-shaped roof of cypress, houses the status of Kannon Bodhisattva, the goddess of mercy. This is an excellent place to watch the sunset, which may also explain the romantic associations accorded to the temple.
Beneath the main hall is the Otowa waterfall, where 3 channels of water fall into a pond. This holy water is right from 1000m underneath ground which originates from River Kamo. The water has been running non-stop for thousands of years through the crack of Higashiyama and is counted among the top 10 most famous water in Japan. The water is believed to have therapeutic properties, thus, people come to the temple to drink the water from the falls by collecting it in tin cups. Drinking the water from 3 streams is said to confer wisdom, health and longevity.
Time for lunch! A meal of tofu & udon.
Leecher demonstarting the 3 steps of eating tofu:1. Take out the tofu carefully and place it inside your bowl.
2. Take out the soy sauce.
3. Pour soy sauce over the tofu & ta-dah! All set & ready to eat.
Tuck in!
Met 2 girls in their kimonos. Kawaii!
Another couple in their kimonos. I think there might be some festivals happening in the temple as we bumped into more people dressed in their kimonos. Leecher always like to challenge me to ask the strangers to take pictures & I will gladly obliged, cuz I love to see his oh-my-god-you-actually-dare-face whenever I walked up to them, LOL.
The kind couple helped us capture this in return.
We followed the couple downhill, in search of Jishu Shrine, dedicated to Okuninushi, a god of love and good matches. Jishu Shrine possess a pair of "love stones" placed 18m apart, which lonely visitors can try to walk between them with their eyes closed. Success in reaching the other stone with their eyes closed implies that the pilgrim will find love. One can be assisted in the crossing, but this is taken to mean that a go-between will be needed.
We were too busy taking pictures that we forgot about the love stones until we exited from the temple. As I have already found my love, I shall skip the love stone :) May everyone find the ones they love!P2 of Day 5 to be posted soon ~
