Last Day in Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan (B)

It is my last day in Kyoto and I really don't have any planned route. All I know is that I want to visit Shosei-en Garden next to where I am staying, and the Honganji Temples. It is not even 7am yet and I am ready to go. Shosei-en Garden is still closed (it opens at 9am) and I decide to head west to Nishi Honganji Temple and drop by the garden on my way back to the guesthouse to pick up my luggage.

As I near Nishi Honganji on Horikawa Street, I spot a quiet temple (quiet probably because it is too early) and step through the gate to take a look around. I breathe in the cool quite morning scene. Nothing is astir. After a few clicks of my camera, I leave Koshoji and go next door.

Nishi Honganji or West Honganji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built in 1591. The first thing I do as I enter Nishi Hongaji's gate is to turn left, where the ground near the bell tower is blanketed in bright yellow ginkgo leaves. Ahh, autumn. How I love autumn. But this morning is cold. Too cold. I go to the rest area near the gate and find something warm to drink from the vending machine. Once my fingers and my stomach thaw, I look inside the two large wooden halls (Goeido Hall is dedicated to the sect's founder; Amidado Hall is dedicated to Amida Buddha), and explore the temple grounds where I find some small buildings, two large ginkgo trees, and an intricately designed gate (Karamon Gate, designated as a national treasure). I mentally check Nishi Honganji off my UNESCO to-visit list. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).