Kyoto Heritage: Gion - Ninenzaka, Yasaka Pagoda, Kiyomizu Dera.

The City of Kyoto has its own charm. One of the reasons because it used to be the capital city of Japan in the 794 – 1868 and the city was originally called Heian-kyo. In the modern day era, it is still a major cultural and educational center in Japan as most of its cultural heritage was spared from World War II. There are many heritage sites like temples and buildings dated back to the era. One of the most famous heritage trail of Kyoto is located in the Gion area where many important hostorical sites, monuments, and relics are located.

Gion

Known as the one of the old town of Kyoto, historically Gion is known as rest area for pilgrims and tracelers visiting the Yasaka Shrine and a popular social venue for nobles and samurai before it became the major are for entertainment district in the Sengoku and Edo period. The area widely known where there are still a lot of Geisha, Kabuki, and other performances can be experienced. Gion maintained its charm with the cobbled streets, traditional architecture, and tea houses combined with nature. You can also experience wearing a kimono in Gion as there are a lot of kimono shops in the area.

Gion Duck Rice

We enjoyed strolling around Gion near lunch time and made our way to the famous Gion Duck Rice. I didn't understand why the place was so packed despite of their simple menu and emoji signboard. We waited for about 40 minutes and when it was almost our turn to take a seat, the waiter came and explain to us about the dish. When our duck rice arrived, then I knew the reason why. The whole set presentation came out quite fancy. The tender duck meat is so umami and flavourful, something i never found elsewhere before. Combined with their variety of seasoning, warm rice, ikura, and uni, every bite is a burst of flavour and texture. Don't forget to try the soup and you can also mix it with rice to create a bowl of chazuke. I told everybody visiting Japan that it is definitely one of the must try dishes in Kyoto.

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Ninenzaka, Sannenzaka, Yasaka Pagoda and Shrine

With our belly full, we made our way to the Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka path. This famous walkway is known with its rows of shops, food stalls, and inns. It leads to the Yasaka Pagoda and Yasaka shrine which is a Shinto Shrine where the famous Gion Matsuri event takes place yearly. Yasaka Pagoda looks quite gigantic and noble with its wooden structure and dark brown colour. The Yasaka Pagoda itself is a 5 storey tall Buddhist pagoda and is the last remaining structure of a 6th century Hokan-ji. The place is always crowded but it was still okay. We stopped by several shops like the Snoopy merchandise, Ghibli store, unique perfume store, incense store, many many souvenir shops, and several food stalls. The weather was quite cool so it was a breezy walk despite the uphill and downhill path. 

Kiyomizu Dera

Continuing the Kyoto heritage trail, we made our way back to central Gion to Kiyomizu Dera. It is a Kita-Hosso Buddhist temple and is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto UNESCO World Heritage Site which opened in 778 AD. The temple is set on a picturesque background of hills and trees in spring. The temple complex is definitely a huge one. The main entrance is called Nio-Mon, reconstructed in 1500 after in was burnt down during a civil war. Another part of the temple complex include the Zuigu-do Hall, Hondo (main hall) which stands on the steep cliff of Mt Otowa, Okuno-in Hall, and the Otowa no taki (Otowa Waterfall) where the golden water is used for purification for six sense and to make visitor's wishes come true.

A special thing is that there is a site called the Jojuin which was originally built as living quarters for a priest. The building is now used as main sub-temple of Kiyomizu for maintenance of the temple buildings. Insides there is a Moon Garden, known as one of the most beautiful garden in Kyoto, which was only open to public for a limited time each year and we were so lucky to be able to go inside and sit in the garden. The garden was built based on the zen garden principle with various trees surrounding a pond with Koudaiji-san (mountain) in the background. It was definitely so tranquil, we took a moment to meditate and sit there just to admire the view.

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