{"id":1658,"date":"2010-11-10T23:47:38","date_gmt":"2010-11-10T14:47:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2010-11-10\/1658"},"modified":"2010-11-27T23:34:49","modified_gmt":"2010-11-27T14:34:49","slug":"todays-most-excellent-adventures-temple-hopping-in-the-mountains-of-south-western-kyoto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2010-11-10\/1658","title":{"rendered":"Today’s Most-Excellent Adventures: Temple Hopping in the Mountains of South-Western Kyoto"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\nNOTE<\/b>: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 1100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTemple on Fire<\/span>\nautumn colors at the Konzou Temple, Kyoto Japan\n<\/div>\n\n

This is turning into a spectacular week of exploration and discovery. On Monday<\/span> I spent<\/span> the day scootering in the mountains to the south-east of Kyoto,\ndiscovering an amazing temple and other photogenic delights I've yet to find time to post about. (I did<\/span> post about\nsome tiny bridges<\/a> that were a bit<\/span> geometric, but otherwise not too interesting.)\nThen yesterday I tag<\/span> along with St\u00e9phane Barbery to the amazing Kongourinji Temple<\/a>\n(\u91d1\u525b\u8f2a\u5bfa)<\/span>\nan hour away in\nShiga, and I came<\/span> back with 619 photos, mostly amazing and also now in the queue for posting. On the way<\/span> home yesterday, he'd recommended\nthat some day soon I should<\/span> visit the Yoshiminedera Temple (\u5584\u5cef\u5bfa),<\/span> an hour's drive the opposite direction in the mountains of the far south-western corner of Kyoto. So, this morning, I headed<\/span> on over there.<\/p>\n\n

As I approached the mountain, I could<\/span> see some temple buildings poking out from the trees, right of center in this photo...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nView from the Valley Floor<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

It felt like they were very far away, even zooming up with my big zoom...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 290 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1000 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 900 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

...but looking on the map after the fact, I realize<\/span> that I'm just about a mile<\/span> from those buildings. I also realize<\/span> that they're\nnot part of the Yoshiminedera Temple (it's down the slope to the left, visible if you really look carefully in the larger version of the “View from the Valley Floor” photo), but of the neighboring temple.<\/p>\n\n

Anyway, I scooter<\/span> up the winding road and arrive at a bus<\/span>-parking area\nand realize that I'd been here before, maybe 17 or 18 years ago, while just\nchecking out isolated-looking roads on the map. I recall<\/span> using the bus-parking area\nto make a U-turn; back then, I wouldn't<\/span> have cared about the beauty of a temple<\/span> or\nfall colors, which was a shame.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

But no U-Turn today, and I was eventually greeted with...<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 1000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOverlooking the Parking Lot<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 560 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nIn the Small Temple “Foyer” Area<\/span>\nphoto by a kind Filipino tourist\n<\/div>\n\n

I used today the\nsame three lenses<\/a> I've been using all week, and took 678 shots overall,\nchanging lenses 58 times. Most of that was at the Yoshiminedera Temple,\nwhich is as equally amazing as yesterday's Kongourinji Temple<\/a>, but\nin a completely<\/span> different way.<\/p>\n\n

For the time being, today's take will mostly have to wait in line behind\nall the other stuff building up in my “want to post” list, so for today\nI'll just post a few<\/span> shots about the views from up on the mountain.<\/p>\n\n

The Yoshiminedera Temple is splayed over a large<\/span> area of the mountain,\nso it has many levels and many different views of the valley below, such as...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMinor Side Path<\/span>\n
Vertical Desktop-Background Versions<\/b>\n\n\n1050×<\/span>1680<\/a>  ·  1200×<\/span>1920<\/a>  ·  1600×<\/span>2560<\/a><\/small><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

It was sunny when I arrived, but soon became partly cloudy, then\novercast, then eventually rained a bit.<\/span> It was still<\/span> partly sunny when I\narrived<\/span> at this minor-side-path spot, but Kyoto City off in the distance\nwas fully engulfed in cloud, and despite waiting for quite a while,<\/span> it\nnever lit up, and so even with my Bigma<\/a>, the resulting\nshot (though 10 kilometers of blustery atmosphere) is muddy at best...<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 500 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/14, ISO 2500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nKyoto Tower<\/span>\n11.76km away\n<\/div>\n\n

It's interesting to note that the sight line from this spot to Kyoto Tower\ncontinues past and cuts almost exactly through eastern Kyoto's Shogunzuka\noverlook, from where I'm apt to try to catch the sunset<\/a>. So, in views from<\/i> Shogunzuka,\nsuch as found here<\/a>,\nhere<\/a>,\nand\nhere<\/a>, this temple is in the mountains on the opposite side of Kyoto Tower.<\/p>\n\n

I also tried to find my place, and sort of succeeded:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 500 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/14, ISO 2800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nGet Out Your Magnifying Glass<\/span>\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The very top of the huge orange main gate of the Heian Shrine is dead\ncenter of the shot above, but you've really got to look for it (in the\nlarger version you get when clicking through). It's almost<\/span> 10 miles away from here.\nThat big orange gate has been featured on my blog a hundred<\/span> times, I'm sure,\nincluding\nthis<\/a>,\nthis<\/a>,\nthis<\/a>, and\nthis<\/a>. I live a<\/span> stone's throw\nfrom there, but the shot is so muddy that I can't<\/span> tell whether I can<\/span> see my place or not.<\/p>\n\n

Some of the closer communities were still in sun, and sort of pretty (if not crowded looking)...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 500 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/14, ISO 2500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nNestled In Tight<\/span>\nthe cluster of houses is about 2½ miles away\n<\/div>\n\n

Due to the dynamic nature of the Yoshiminedera Temple complex, there were plenty of dramatic views\nclose to home, such as this...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>6400 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLittle Hut From Afar<\/span>\nmade more dramatic with a polarizing<\/span> filter<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPath Back Down<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

There were almost no visitors to this place of visual splendor...\nsometimes I'd go for half an hour without seeing someone else. It was a<\/span>\nreal treat, but like I wrote<\/span> above, the real story of the temple will have\nto wait for another day.<\/p>\n\n

The twisty mountain road to the temple actually continues deeper into\nthe mountain. It was traversable<\/span> by scooter, but the narrowness and\nunbelievably sharp and steep turns would have made for a white<\/span>-knuckle\nattempt by car.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 360 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCurve<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

After a mind-dizzying twisty climb up the mountain, I followed<\/span> an even more minor path (I hesitate<\/span> to use the word “street”)\ndown to find that it ended at the Sankoji Temple (\u4e09\u9237\u5bfa),<\/span> which is adjacent to the Yoshiminedera Temple that I'd just\ncome from. This is the temple visible from “View from the Valley Floor” above. Here's the reverse-angle view from the middle\nof the three buildings shown in the close-up below:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nView to the Valley Floor<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The little incursion of houses above frame center is where I was<\/span> when I took<\/span> the “View from the Valley Floor” shot.<\/p>\n\n

I retraced my path back to the tiny road and continued in to the mountains, eventually coming across the first house I'd seen since leaving\nthe valley floor:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 2500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAbandoned<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

But next two it were a few lived-in houses, and one had a door<\/span> open to the street, with a table<\/span> offering sweet mini green peppers...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 5000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n$1\/Bag<\/span>\n( I bought one, leaving the 100-yen coin in the cup )\n<\/div>\n\n

Further down the road was an area large enough and flat enough to farm...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 360 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLate-Afternoon Chores<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The road was really pleasant (though less “fun”, with the ultra-steep\ncutbacks left behind), and about this time I thought<\/span> to stop and take a\nphoto<\/span> every so often...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 900 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

After this the road joined a larger road, but everything's still relative: the “larger road” was indeed big enough to\nhave road paint, but it was still a tiny<\/span> twisty little-used mountain road...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 1250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMemories<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I took this photo from a cutback (spot where the road makes a very<\/span> sharp turn as it dives further down the mountain)\nthat had a sort<\/span> of wide area to pull off. I immediately<\/span> recognized it from stopping 20 or so years ago to enjoy the view\n(back when this was a far<\/span> journey from where I lived<\/span> in Takatsuki). It's the cutback<\/span> mentioned in last year's\nᾮWestern-Kyoto Mountain Drive: Bamboo, Nostalgia, and More<\/a>”. Glad to have finally re-found it.<\/p>\n\n

Then further down the mountain...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBig Cutback<\/span>\nOnly in the context of the earlier 45° ultra-tight hairpins would this be considered “big”\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 1400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 1400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I eventually found myself passing the Konzou Temple, which I once<\/span> wrote about during cherry-blossom season<\/a>. It was getting<\/span> late and light was fading, but I stopped<\/span> in for a quick<\/span> look around...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 1800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nDe-Horned<\/span>\ndemon in the tile has lost its horns\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 1000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCreamy<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 2200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLowest-Level Courtyard<\/span>\nfrom about the same location as this shot<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWhite Grass 'n Stuff<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

This, too, will have to wait for another day for a proper<\/span> post.<\/p>\n\n

Back on the road...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 1100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBamboo Grove<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1000 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nEdge of Civilization<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1000 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n“Civilization”<\/span>\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I was dumped back into civilization on Route 9<\/span> in western Kyoto,\nleaving a 30<\/span>-minute ride home. As I was<\/span> waiting at the light, a truck<\/span> went\nby returning boats to Kameoka, that are then used for pleasure rides to\nArashiyama.<\/p>\n\n

Anyway, it was a great day, the third so far of the week. I've got plans\nfor tomorrow that should make it great as well, so I guess<\/span> I've got to think of\nsomething for Friday to make the week complete...<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is turning into a spectacular week of exploration and discovery. On Monday I spent the day scootering in the mountains to the south-east of Kyoto, discovering an amazing temple and other photogenic delights I've yet to find time to post about. (I did post about some tiny bridges that were a bit geometric, but otherwise not too interesting.) Then yesterday I tag along with St\u00e9phane Barbery to the amazing Kongourinji Temple (\u91d1\u525b\u8f2a\u5bfa) an hour away in Shiga, and I came back with 619 photos, mostly amazing and also now in the queue for posting. On the way home yesterday, [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,1,2,6,10,25],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1658"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1658\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}