13 April 08 ---Shrines not Church today.

We did think of going to church today. There used to be a very beautiful Anglican Church n Kyoto. However it was pulled down following the Kobe earthquake in 1996 and has not yet been rebuilt. There is a catholic church but enquiring further I found that, although in Kyoto prefecture, it is on the North Coast some 100km from Kyoto city. Not practical for 8am mass.

Instead we decided to visit some nearby temples.


First a five minute train ride and I thought this machine at the station was interesting.







Not a normal ticket machine but a fare adjustment machine. On arrival if your ticket will not let you out for insufficient fare etc you merely put ticket in this machine and it lets you legitimise yourself by paying the extra fare. Tell that to Connex and Vic Rail.

The two shrines were very different. The first was the Fushima Inari Taisha Shrine. It was a vast area covering many acre and the paths were marked by thousands of red Tore poles. The paths through the complex wound slowly up hill. Forever it seemed as we turned back after several kilometres.









The second shrine was the Tofukuji Temple. A Zen shrine altogether more restrained. It had the most beautiful gardens and really felt a place of peace and relaxation.