【Travel Notes】Saifang-ji Temple in the summer of 2017

2017.07.14 There is no common itinerary on this day. Some people go to Kiyomizu Temple and Yasaka Shrine, some people go to the aquarium, and I go to Saifang Temple by myself.

A month ago, I was thinking about where to go today. I have been to Kiyomizu Temple twice, and I have no desire to shop. I casually read other people’s travel notes on the Internet, and explored places of interest. Suddenly I saw this exactly what I wanted. A: Haven't been there, not many people, cool (especially important in hot Kyoto summer). Decided to be here!

After deciding on the target location, you have to come to make an appointment to visit the temple. Looking at the teaching on the Internet, this is one of the most difficult temples to make an appointment. You should send a return postcard to the temple a week before, indicating the name, number of people, contact number, time you can visit, and return to the temple. After that, the temple will send back to inform you of the successful appointment time and remind you how much to pay. Thinking that sending international letters might be too late to receive a reply before departure, I decided to ask my friends who exchanged in Kanto to help me send postcards, and then ask the hostess of the Osaka B&B to help me receive the letters. Fortunately, everything went smoothly, and I made an appointment to the desired time slot, just waiting for the day to go to worship alone.

Note: Today, I found that Xifang Temple has more online reservations! However, it can only be reserved within a week of the day, and it is limited to a maximum of two companions. The price has also increased, and one person will cost ¥4,000. Saihoji Temple Online Reservation

When the day arrives, hand over the postcard and the imperial seal account received by the temple, and give 3,000 yen, then take the heart sutra and wood chips to find a place to sit down, wait for the audience to arrive, and quickly recite the sutra with the abbot. 3 times. Although I already knew the general process before I went, and I copied the Heart Sutra several times, I still couldn't keep up with it when I arrived at the scene... One is that the speed of speech is very fast, and the other is that the abbot's way of reciting the Heart Sutra is Japanese (I guess it should be closer to Sanskrit pronunciation), the pronunciation is completely different from Chinese, even if it is helpful to add katakana next to the Chinese characters, but it still leaves the team, finally finished 3 times, after the previous team reached the destination, I can When you join the team, you can write your name, address and wish in small letters on the wood chips, and then you can go out to visit the courtyard.

The moss temple in summer is really comfortable. Japan’s summer is sultry. Even if the latitude is higher than Taiwan, the terrain of Kyoto is a basin, and it is common to have a temperature above 35 degrees Celsius. Every summer in Japan, there are often countermeasures for fever, and everyone is urged to pay attention to heat stroke when going out. As a tourist countermeasure, in addition to carrying a water bottle, it is to go to the convenience store every now and then. The Moss Temple is located on the back of the mountain, there is a pool in the courtyard and there are large green shades, sweeping away the summer heat.

After walking around the courtyard and preparing to go to the next destination, it is quite easy to travel alone. The next destination usually depends on where you want to go at the moment, and at this time, if you want to have a cup of coffee, you will jump on the bus to Arashiyama.

I bought a cup of iced latte and sat outside watching Togetsu Bridge, satisfying my need for caffeine that day. I continued to think about where to go next. I watched the dark clouds in the sky begin to thicken, and it seemed that it was going to rain. Hurry up and take advantage of it. Go to the bus stop before it rains, and think about where to get on the bus.

Fortunately, it started to rain not long after I got on the bus. Before I had lunch, I also thought about where to go - Marukyu Xiaoshanyuan, I was hesitating whether to go here or Ranhuazhaoyuan, both are in the afternoon. The tea pocket list, and finally decided to go to the small mountain garden that is closer to the bus. Traveling alone is optional, but the only disadvantage is that at this time, you want to eat everything, but you can only choose one in the end. I hope that the Japanese can be considerate of tourists like us who like to go out alone, and come up with a combination of nine palaces.

After a full meal, I bought matcha candy, tea leaves and matcha powder, and took the bus to Shijo-dori.

July is an important month for Kyoto—or for Japan as a whole—the Gion Festival is in this July, and 7/14 is Ya々々yama, the first three days of the former festival, and the entire block nearby is bustling with activity There are no vehicles in the alley, all kinds of Yamahoko are parked, and snacks are sold. The alleys are full of tourists who come here for pilgrimages by locals.

After that, I went to LOFT to turn a gashapon and gather with everyone.